"Proud to be peruvian!" Top 5 Page for this destination Peru by christian99

Peru Travel Guide: 9,304 reviews and 20,097 photos

DID YOU KNOW

That the Paddington Bear was from 'deepest darkest Peru'. The mysterious lost Inca city of Machu Picchu was uncovered in 1911. Peru is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, containing 83 of a possible 103 types of ecological zone. The remains of the largest adobe city in the world are located at Chan Chan in northern Peru. The area around Nasca, famous for its geometric lines, is also home to the highest sand dune in the world (2,078m). The Colca Canyon in southern Peru is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

BACKGROUND:

templo de koricancha

Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadores in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals led to his ouster by Congress in November of that year. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government.

LOCATION:
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

CLIMATE:
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes

TERRAIN:
western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

NATURAL HAZARDS:
earthquakes, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

GEOGRAPHY-NOTE:
shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

POPULATION:
27,544,305 (July 2004 est.)

AGE STRUCTURE:
0-14 years: 32.1% (male 4,496,146; female 4,340,580)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 8,709,098; female 8,594,351)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 660,734; female 743,396) (2004 est.)

ETHNICS GROUPS:
Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%

RELIGIONS:
Roman Catholic 90%

LANGUAGES:
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages

LITERACY:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.2%
female: 86.8% (2003 est.)

NATIONAL HOLIDAY:
Independence Day, 28 July (1821)
Government type:
constitutional republic

CURRENCY:
nuevo sol (PEN)

EXCHANGE RATE:
nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.32(2004)

DISPUTES-INTERNATIONAL:
Bolivia has reanimated its claim to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile and adjoining Peru in 1884 to secure sovereign maritime assess for Bolivian natural gas

ILLICIT DRUGS:
until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf producer; emerging opium producer; cultivation of coca in Peru fell 15 percent to 31,150 hectares between 2002 and the end of 2003; much of the cocaine base is shipped to neighboring Colombia for processing into cocaine, while finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market; increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil and Bolivia for use in the Southern Cone or transshipped to Europe and Africa

Pros and Cons

In a nutshell:Never be ashamed of not knowing something, be ashamed of not wanting to know

Intro Updated Sep 10, 2006
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (37)

CAN YOU DO THIS? Sports & Outdoors (3)

Trekking & Climbing in the Cordillera Blanca: The Cordillera Blanca, the highest tropical mountain chain in the world,... more travel advice

AND THIS Sports & Outdoors (3)

Mountain & Volcano Climbing Near Arequipa: For mountaineers (and fit, adventurous travelers), the volcanoes just beyond... more travel advice

SEE THIS Sports & Outdoors (3)

Trekking in the Sacred Valley: The most famous trek outside Cusco is, of course, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. But if... more travel advice

RESTAURANTS Restaurants (4)

Astrid y Gastón, Lima (tel. 01/444-1496): One of the coolest restaurants in the country is this stylish modern place... more travel advice

Nightlife (4)
See All Jazz Zone
Transportation (1)
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
Tourist Traps (4)
See All THIS HAS TO CATCH UR ATTENTION
Shopping (2)
See All MARKETS
Off The Beaten Path (3)
See All AND GO ON...

Hotels (3)
See All HOTELS...
Local Customs (3)
See All FESTIVITIES2
Favorites (2)
See All ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Warnings Or Dangers (2)
See All HEALTH
Things to Do (6)
See All La papa es peruana

Comments (12)

asiantraveler Mar 5, 2012 at 7:41 AM Report Abuse

hi christia! great pictures of peru, very impormative. thanks!
volopolo Aug 20, 2009 at 3:59 AM Report Abuse

Excellent information. I love the picture from the longest tropical mountain range: Cordillera Blanca
Sininen Nov 2, 2007 at 9:53 AM Report Abuse

¡Hola Christian! Una pagina muy maravillosa. Querida volver al peru algún día. ¡Feliz cumple desde Finlandia!
Faiza-Ifrah May 7, 2007 at 8:20 PM Report Abuse

this is my official 1st visit to peru thru your pages. this is my 1st day today. i will be back tomorrow. very nicely done tips.
IceBear7 Apr 22, 2006 at 11:27 AM Report Abuse

great pages, i am coming to peru on thursday and i am soooo exctited :-)
Homanded Dec 12, 2005 at 3:56 PM Report Abuse

Great page on Peru...one of the "magical places" we want to go to. Thanks for heartfelt greetings to Asians. We just returned from doing Asia.
sprdak11 Sep 30, 2005 at 12:06 AM Report Abuse

Interesting travel page! Greetings!
sandrags Aug 5, 2005 at 12:00 AM Report Abuse

Sounds very tempting..but do any of these resturants have any "non-meat" dishes?
Zarasher Jul 10, 2005 at 9:45 AM Report Abuse

Greetings from London... A very informative page!
Lady7 Mar 6, 2005 at 12:40 PM Report Abuse

You make the city sound so beautiful. Do you have any photos to view? That would be wonderful.