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General information
about Peru
A country located
in western South America, Peru borders Ecuador and Colombia
to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east
and south, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the
west. Peru is rich in cultural anthropology, and is well-known
as the cradle of the Inca empire.
It's capital and
largest city is Lima,
with an estimated population of over 8 milion people, which
accounts for around one third of Peru's 27 milion population.
Official language is Spanish, though Quechua and Aymara are
widely spoken, and are also recognized in the in the highland
regions of the country where they are predominant (central
and south Andes).
Peru is the 19th
largest country in the world with an area of 1,285,220 km²
(of which an 8,8% is water). Its largest lake is Titicaca,
the longest river the Ucayali (1,771 km). Peru is a river-rich
country (great
rivers for whitewater rafting). Within its borders, more
than a dozen rivers run for at least 600 km, including the
Amazon river, which runs for more than 700km within Peru.
Peru's highest peak is Huascarán (6,768m), in the Ancash
region.
Peru's territory
is divided successively into regions (25), provinces (180)
and districts (1747). The Lima Province, located in the central
coast of the country, is unique in that it doesn't belong
to any of the twenty-five regions. The city
of Lima is located in this province, which is also known
as Lima Metropolitana (Metropolitan Lima).
Peruvian regions
are: Amazonas, Ancash, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho,
Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco,
Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, La Libertad,
Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco,
Piura, Puno, San Martín, Tacna, Tumbes, and Ucayali.
The western coastal
plains (costa) are separated from the eastern lowland jungle
of the Amazon Basin (selva) by the high and rugged Andes in
the center (sierra). On the border with Bolivia lies Lake
Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake at 3821 m.
The country is rich in cultural heritage
and natural environments. Indeed, Peru is a land of vast biodiversity:
it harbors 84 of the 118 known life zones of the earth. A
complete mosaic comprises almost every type of habitat imaginable,
from the deserts and dry forests of the coast to the Puna
grassland and snow-capped
mountains of the Andes, and the multitude of types of
forests within the Amazonian lowlands.
Peru is blessed with an abundance of life
forms: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, butterflies, trees,
cacti, orchids, and, last but not least, birds. At least 1,800
species
of birds are to be found in Peru, that is, more bird species
than found in all of North America and Europe combined.
History
of Peru
Before the Spanish arrived, Peru was home
to various Pre-Inca cultures and later, to the Inca Empire.
Read
a comprehensive History of Peru.
Read a shorter version of Peru's history.
Demographics
Peru has one of the largest populations of
Amerindians in the Americas - almost half of all Peruvians
are Amerindian, or 45 percent of the total population.
Read More on Peru's demographics.
Geography and Climate
The combination of latitude and topography
variations gives Peru a large diversity of climates.
Read
More on Peru's geography and climate.
Sources: ThePeruGuide.com, www.wikipedia.org
and PromPerú.
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