Peru flag

Peru Overview

Peru is located in western South America and borders Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. On the border with Bolivia is Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest situated navigable lake, and in the country is the source of the Amazon River.

Capital: Lima
Biggest city: Lima
State: republic
Language: Spanish, Quechua
Religion: catholicism
Surface: 1 285 220 km²
Population: 30.5 million (2013)
Population density: 23 residents per km²
Life expectancy: 71 years
Illiteracy: 7%
Currency: new sol (PEN)
1 sol = 2.52 kr
GDP per capita: $ 9,100 (2010)
Time difference: -6 hours
Electricity: 220 C AC, 60Hz
National Day: July 28
Country area code: 51
2-Letter country abbreviation: PE (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder)
Business: service sector 53%, agriculture 35%, industry 12%
Climate: tropical (east), dry (coast), cold (mountains)

Peru flag

Peru was the center of the mighty Inca Empire from 1438 until the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro arrived in South America in 1532 and conquered the country for the Spanish crown. Peru declared its independence in 1821 thanks to José de San Martín’s Argentine army and Simon Bolivar’s Venezuelan army. However, the first elected president did not come to power until 1827.

From 1836 to 1839, Peru and Bolivia were united in the Peru-Bolivian confederation, which was dissolved after an armed conflict with Chile and Argentina. During these years, political unrest prevailed and with the army as an important political power.

Between 1879 and 1883, Peru and Bolivia once again had an alliance, fighting Chile in the Pacific Wars. After the wars, there was political stability in the early 20th century; until the dictator Augusto Leguia came to power (until 1930). Peru has since had an unstable history of military rule and takeovers, and it was not until 2001 that democratic elections were held.

Peru’s population is over 50 percent Native American. Peru’s Native American population lives mainly in the highlands and mountainous regions of the Andes. In the Native American population, poverty is widespread. Deep economic hardship in rural areas has led to massive migration to the larger coastal cities, especially the capital Lima. The move has led to increased social distress and increased crime. In 2003, almost ten percent of the adult population was illiterate.

WORLD HERITAGE

The following objects in Peru are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.

  • Cuzco City (1983)
  • Inkastaden Machu Picchu (1983)
  • Chavín de Huántars Antiquities Area (1985)
  • Huascarán National Park (1985)
  • Chan Chan Archaeological Site (1986)
  • Manú National Park (1987)
  • Old Town of Lima (1988)
  • Río Abiseo National Park (1990)
  • Lines and geoglyphs in Nazca and Pampas de Jumana (1994)
  • The historic center of the city of Arequipa (2000)
  • Caral-Supe, a 5,000-year-old archaeological site (2009)
  • Inkaleden Qhapaq Nan (2014)

ELECTRICAL OUTLET

Electricity and electrical outlets in Peru

Voltage: 220 V

Frequency: 60 Hz

Type of plug: A, B, C

Need an adapter: No, you do not need an adapter.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather in Lima

Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Christmas Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average temperature °C 22 23 22 21 19 19 18 17 17 17 19 21
Day °C 26 27 26 25 22 21 19 19 20 21 23 25
Night °C 20 20 20 18 17 16 16 15 15 16 17 19
Rain (mm) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Rainy days 4 2 3 2 5 11 12 15 13 7 5 3
Soltim / day 6 7 7 7 5 2 1 1 2 3 4 5

Peru 2

Arequipa

Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city, and is located in the southeastern part of the country. The city has 749,291 residents (2007). Arequipa was founded on August 15, 1540, and is known as “The White City” thanks to the white buildings in the historic center of the city. It is located 2,380 meters above sea level and the houses are built of a volcanic rock, called Herring, which is abundant in the region. Hence the nickname “the white city”.

Arequipa is located at the foot of the volcano Misti. The city is also built by two other volcanoes called Chachani and Picchu Picchu. There are 17 different districts of which Yanahuara, Cayma, Miraflores, Paucarpata, Socabaya and Cerro Colorado are some of them.

In 2000, Arequipa’s historic center was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cuzco

Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru and is located in the Andes at about 3,400 meters above sea level. It is the administrative capital of the Cusco region and has 348,935 residents (2007).

Cusco was the capital and cultural and religious center of the Inca Empire. Its most significant building was the Temple of the Sun (Inti-Huasi) which was located in the temple area of ​​Coricancha. From this temple radiated the boundaries of the four parts of the kingdom of Tawantinsuyu or the land of the four kingdoms, as Peru was then called.

Attractions in Cusco include the Cathedral, the Santo Domingo Convention, La Merced and Las Nazarenas, the Church of San Blas, the Plaza de Armas, the University Museum and the Stone with the Twelve Corners. From Cusco, trains and buses go via Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, which is by far South America’s most visited tourist destination.

Iquitos

Iquitos is the largest city in the rainforest of Peru as well as in the entire non-Brazilian Amazon. It is the capital of the Loreto region and the province of Mayana. Located on the Amazon River, it is only 106 meters above sea level, despite being more than 3,000 km from the Atlantic Ocean. The city is located 125 km downstream from the confluence of the Río Ucayali and the Río Marañón, the two main sources of the Amazon River. Iquitos has long been an important port in the Amazon region and is surrounded by three rivers: Nany, Itaya and the Amazon River.

The city is considered the largest in the world that can not be reached by road but only by plane or boat (except if traveling from Nauta, a small town about 100 km south). Most trips within the city itself are made by bus, motorcycle, or the popular tricycle (popularly called Mosquito – “mosquito”). Transport to nearby cities often requires a trip on the river with a llevo-llevo which act as small buses on the water.

Iquitos has a growing reputation as a tourist area, especially as a starting point for excursions to the rainforest and the Pacaya-Samiria nature reserve as well as trips downstream to Brazil – the other major rubber industrial resort in the inner Amazon and finally the Atlantic Ocean, which is 3,360 km away.

A boat trip to Belén is a common tourist attraction. The area is accessible on foot below low tide levels in the rivers but during the high tide season is the only way to get there by boat. Many of the houses in the area are anchored by large piles and float up when the water rises every year, some houses float all year round. Where the water begins, there are often a couple of men with boats (canoes) that transport locals and tourists for a small fee.

There is also an outdoor market in Belém (the part that is not flooded) which is also a regular tourist attraction. Notable is the medicine entrance, Pasaje Paquito, an entire block of the market where medicines made from local plants (and sometimes animals) are sold.

Iquitos can be reached by plane from Lima and other Peruvian cities or by boat on the rivers. Major port cities in Peru from which you can go to Iquitos are Pucallpa, Yurimaguas and Santa Rosa near the Colombian border.

Lima

According to Countryaah, Lima is the capital of Peru, and has 7.2 million residents (2000). Lima is located in the central part of the country on the coastal area between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes on the river Rimac. Lima is the country’s administrative and economic center and the country’s largest industrial city (workshop, chemical, textile and food production, etc.).

Lima also has great cultural significance. Here is South America’s oldest university (San Marcos from 1551), several colleges and distinguished museum collections with, among other things, goldsmith art, textiles and ceramics from ancient Peruvian times (Inca times and earlier).

In 1991, central Lima was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.