"Northern Peru" Piura by lichinga

Piura Travel Guide: 16 reviews and 15 photos

So many good pages about Peru! So many wonderful locations I never had the time to visit during my 4/5 journeys to Peru! But what I want to talk you about is rural Peru .

By and large there are three rural Peru's: the forest, the Andes and the coast. I'll be introducing the less attractive one, the coast. See the picture of the small village called La Legua to have an idea.... La Legua is very close to Piura, far in the North, more than 1,000 km away from Lima.
Though far from being a tourist target, Piura is quite important in Peruvian economy, and it also has a great importance from the social and political point of view. Piura is a very important place for people related to Opus Dei; as I'm not able to appreciate those kind of half-secret, self-referentiating sects, I won't make any further comment - but they have an influence in the area. More important is the fact the largest and most crowded "comunidades campesinas" are situated in this area - as you may imagine, agricultural land is what you see in the picture: sand. I've been so lucky as to able to work with a couple of them, and one is the largest, most populated and oldest all over Latin America: the "gloriosa y combativa Comunidad Campesina de San Juan Bautista de Catacaos": 400,000 hectares and 100,000 members. Fujimori destroyed most of this, but they resisted for centuries against the Spanish rule and they will also survive after "El Chino's treatment. In fact, now he escaped in his former homeland: Japan....

Last visit to Piura: Dec 1995
Intro Updated Dec 5, 2002
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Reviews (12)

Once in seven year, as an... Favorites (2)

Once in seven year, as an average, rains appear, and they are devastating. They inundate the flat land, and drainage is... more travel advice

Most of the comuneros used to... - Piura

Most of the comuneros used to... Off The Beaten Path (5)

Most of the comuneros used to be seasonal workers in the large landlord cotton plantations. Part of them were entitled... more travel advice

When traditional farming... Off The Beaten Path (5)

When traditional farming techniques ahve been lost for a couple of generations, financial resources are scarce and... more travel advice

Driest climate, sun, sand,... Things to Do (2)

Driest climate, sun, sand, salty breeze from the Ocean.... this is the result! The desert area around Piura, Chiclayo... more travel advice

Local Customs (1)
Within the Comunidad...
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Comments (9)

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richiecdisc Jun 23, 2006 at 2:54 AM

No one does food quite as slowly as you. Truly off the beaten path.
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Sininen Feb 22, 2006 at 9:36 AM

Hello Andrea! Happy Birthday from Finland! Your Piura page is one of the best pages I've came along in VT. Different and full of information of a place less visited. Thank you for sharing. Sini
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fabrice Sep 25, 2005 at 1:32 AM

the quarrel about the border with ecuador is great fun
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Bonobo2005 May 26, 2004 at 1:22 PM

It almost looks like the Sahara... Cotton consumes so much water! And it's terrible how USA subsidise its own cottonfarmers...Piura is not likely to become a prime tourist attraction, but tx. for sharing! and btw..I would choose the 1000km. road trip!!
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Maillekeul Mar 31, 2004 at 6:36 PM

Thank you for the stack of information !
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mr.jacob May 5, 2003 at 1:35 PM

great inforamtion and style of writing, please make more pages!:)
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pepples46 Feb 14, 2003 at 8:54 PM

Peru and Piura.....fantastico
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lotharlerch Feb 11, 2003 at 5:27 AM

I learned a lot from your page!
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utttz Feb 4, 2003 at 3:39 PM

non mi dire che sono il primo?