Information About Peru
PERU: ONE OF THE GREATEST CULTURE IN THE WORLD
Peru is one of the most varied countries in the world. A multicultural country, full of traditions, an award-winning gastronomy and vast nature reserves. It has 12 world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO and owns 84 of the 117 life zones that exist in the world. It is home to more than 1,800 species of birds and the 10% of reptiles, mammals and fish on the planet. It also has 3 500 varieties of orchids Peru is located in the western part of South America and shares its borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. In its vast territory, of more than 1.2 million km², it covers three regions: Coast, Andes and the Amazon rainforest. Its current population exceeds 34 million inhabitants.
Peru has become a fastest growing economy in Latin America during the last decade. It has the largest silver reserves in the world, as well as the largest gold, lead and zinc reserves in Latin America. The Peruvian coast is recognized for its marine resources and export-oriented agribusiness, with star products such as asparagus, blueberries, table grapes, avocados, organic bananas or paprika. The Amazon, for its part, contains rich oil and natural gas deposits, as well as extensive forest resources. The government has been implementing measures to reduce bureaucratic barriers to investment, encourage the formalization of small businesses, and stimulate capital investment in infrastructure. Currently, Peru has trade agreements with the main world economies such as the United States, China or the European Union. In addition, it belongs to commercial blocks such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) or the Pacific Alliance.
Peru is a country of very ancient civilizations, which began their development more than ten millennia ago in the cold highlands of the Andes. Caral is the culmination of a first cultural process called the Initial Period, whose main characteristics are the construction of staggered adobe temples, circular squares and small villages around the centers of worship and administration. Notable archaeological sites such as Sechín, on the coast of Ancash, and the Temple of the Crossed Hands of Kotosh, in Huánuco, belong to this stage. A thousand years later Chavín emerged, in the north-central Andes, in the department of Ancash. Towards 700 a. C. Another fascinating culture appeared on the central coast, the first great settlers of the desert: Paracas, whose settlers were skilled weavers – their large looms of intricate designs have traveled around the world – and they stood out for the way they buried their dead. During the first centuries of our era and after the Chavín hegemony, various lordships appeared throughout the territory; among them, the Mochica stand out, who extended their domain over almost the entire north coast of Peru. After this first development, what is called the first regional empire appeared: Wari, around 550 AD. As a continuation of the Tiahuanaco culture, forged in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia, the Wari dominated a vast territory and configured what would later become the Tahuantinsuyo. It was they who began with the outline of the great pre-Hispanic roads and laid the foundations of social administration and the territory that the Incas of Cusco would later inherit. With the disappearance of Wari, approximately in 1,200 AD. C. begins the Late Intermediate period, a second wave of regional developments where the Chimú stand out, who built the sprawling city of Chan-Chan, the largest adobe building in the world. This is also the time of the Chachapoyas, the ‘men of the clouds’, inhabitants of the lush cloud forests of the Amazon, where they built the most amazing cities and mausoleums through excavations on sharp cliffs.