Peru

Quick Facts

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Local name

Spanish: Perú, Quechua: Piruw, Aymara: Piruw

Capital

Lima

Government

Republic

Nationality

Peruvian

Population

25,000,000

Languages

Spanish, Quechua, Aymara

Religions

Christianity (Catholic)

Currency

Peruvian Nuevo Sol (PEN)

Calling Code

+51

Time Zone

UTC-5

Introduction

Salinas 1

© All Rights Reserved capibara

Peru's irresistible attraction is impossible to pinpoint: is it the stunning Andean landscapes? Or the impressive biodiversity of the nation's Amazon basin? Or is it the breathtaking remnants of ancient civilizations, thankfully maintained in good condition? Indeed, the amazing Incan ruins of Machu Picchu are almost enough incentive for the trip. Considered one of the forgotten wonders of the modern world, the city was built in the sixteenth century as a holy city on the mountain of Machu Picchu by the Incan emperor. Overlooking the Urubambu River and the formidable Andean ranges, travellers to the city will undoubtedly find it a surreal destination.

That said, Peru's array of attractions ensures that travellers will find themselves in the pleasant dilemma of picking which one to focus their attention on.

Brief History

Geography

Peru has 3 main geographical regions: the coast, the Andes mountains and the jungle around the Amazon River. The weather and landscape varies distinctly because of this clear division into 3 regions.

The coastal strip is a dry and relatively cool area, especially when you consider that it is actually in the tropics. But the cold Humboldt Current means that cold air, which is heavier than warm air, stays below the warm air. It is also drier, which means less rain fall, so some areas don't see more than about 50 mm of rain a year, sometimes less, although foggy and cloudy days are much more common. Nothing much grows here, nor in the Andes or Amazon areas. Instead, there is a fertile zone in between the coastal area and the Andes, where weather conditions are fine enough to grow crops and raise some stock. Behind this zone the Andes towers up to over 6700 meters, one of the highest mountain ranges in the western hemisphere. Then the land drops dramatically again towards the low-lying area of the Amazon basin, where tropical rainforest and rivers are the norm - and roads, people and bearable temperatures are not. Peru shares international borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.

Regions

The following is a list of geographical regions and the 25 administrative regions plus a province they are divided into.

• Central Coast - Lima (province)
• Southern Coast - Pisco, Ica, Nazca and Tacna
• Northern Coast - Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Tumbes and Chimbote
• Southern Sierra - Huancayo, Ayacucho, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco and Machu Picchu
• Cordillera Blanca - Huaraz and Caraz
• Northern Sierra - Cajamarca
• Altiplano - Puno and Lake Titicaca
• San Martín - Moyobamba and Tarapoto
• Amazonas - Iquitos, Amazonas and Pucallpa
• Madre de Dios - Manu Biosphere Reserve and Puerto Maldonado

Cities

• Lima, the capital and biggest city along the Pacific coast.
• Arequipa, beneath the El Misti Volcano has a perfect climate and is the gateway to the Colca Canyon.
• Cusco, 'capital' of the Incas and the most famous city in Peru.
• Trujillo, on the north coast.
• Huaraz, as a base for trekking and climbing the Andes, with the Huascaran the being the biggest challenge.
• Iquitos, the biggest city in the world which you can not reach by road, only by river or air.

Sights and Activities

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

© All Rights Reserved shinenyc

Main article: Machu Picchu

This sight does not need a real introduction, since it's one of the most famous attractions in Peru, South America and the world at large. Not known to the outside world until about 100 years ago, when it was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham, this former Inca city can only be reached by train or by a multi day hike on the Inca Trail.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Generally, Peru has a dry and cool season from June to September and a wetter, warmer season from December to February. But both temperature and rainfall (or snow in the mountains) vary enormously according to elevation or the geographical zone it is in. For example, rainfall is almost non-existent along the coastline and Lima has very little rainfall a year. South from Lima, the Atacama desert goes years without a single drop of rain at all. Temperatures in Lima are consistent throughout the year, with January to March a bit warmer with temperatures during the day around 25 °C. Nights don't cool off as much in Lima as they do in places like Arequipa, which is a bit cooler during the day but has night temperatures close to 0 °C, which is basically a consequence of its elevation of 2300 meters. Higher, at 3300 meters, Cusco has even colder temperatures with nights below zero in July and August and a distinct rainy season from December to March.

The Amazon basin has its own climate, with high rainfall every month (although December to March are particularly wet) and temperatures of 30 °C or more during the day and barely below 20 °C at night.

Winter solstice

© All Rights Reserved all Peru

Getting There

By Plane

Although both Iquitos and Cusco have some international flights, the Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima is the most important international airport. It has direct flights from several cities in the USA, like Miami, and from Europe (Amsterdam and Madrid). It has also good connections with main cities in South America, including Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, La Paz, Santiago and Quito. A rather alternative way of leaving the country is by water plane from Iquitos to the triple frontier with Brazil and Colombia in the Amazon.

By Train

The only possible way of entering Peru by train is from Chile. There are several trains a week from Arica, Chile to Tacna in Peru.

By Car

By Bus

Peru has good bus connections with neighbouring countries and even beyond to countries like Colombia. Daily connections link La Paz in Bolivia with both Puno and Cusco in Peru. Also, buses make their way from Lima south and north along the Panamerican Highway towards Santiago de Chile and all the way north to Quito and on to Bogota.

There are not many border crossings in the Amazon but from Puerto Maldonado you can take buses to the border of Brazil, where you have to cross the river by foot and take buses from there onwards.

By Boat

Lake Titicaca has some expensive options for getting to Peru from Bolivia or the other way around. A more realistic option of leaving Peru by boat is from Iquitos to the triple frontier with Brazil and Colombia, travelling the mighty Amazon river.

Getting Around

By Plane

There is a good internal flight network operated by LAN Peru among others. You can fly to all major cities in Peru from Lima and many of the flights have several stops (eg Lima -> Cusco -> Juliaca (Puno) -> Arequipa -> Lima) so it is possible to travel between cities without returning to Lima.

By Train

It is possible to Travel between Lima, Arequipa, Cusco and Machu Picchu by train.

By Car

The Pan American highway runs through (or at least nearby) to all the major cities close to the coast. Heading inland and into the Andes roads between major cities are largely in good condition and mostly tarmac. However straying from these roads will usually involve travelling on dirt tracks of varying grades, during the rainy season road travel can take considerably longer and some roads may be impassable. Roads in the Amazon are particularly perilous and ideally you would want a 4x4.

By Bus

Peru has and an excellent and cheap bus network that runs between all the major towns and tourist attractions. They range from the cheap and crowded local buses to the air conditioned first class inter city buses with tvs, reclining seats and hostess services, but even these are cheap compared to other countries. Longer trips often have overnight buses available and if you buy one of the better class tickets you will easily be able to sleep.

By Boat

Postcard shot of Mt. Huayanay

© All Rights Reserved tommydavis

Red Tape

Money

The local currency is the Nuevo Sol, often written as 'S/'. US dollars are widely accepted and prices for hotels and flights are often quoted in USD. You will not have trouble changing Pounds Sterling or Euros in the cities. All of the tourist cities and towns have cambios where you can change money, and often you will find people changing money on the street sometimes they offer a better deal, sometimes they will rip you off so take care if using the street changers.

Try to get your money in the smallest denominations you can (no higher than S/ 50) or you will find it very difficult to spend the larger notes outside of large hotels or expensive restaurants and you may find yourself standing by a stall for five minutes whilst the owner runs around looking for change.

Work

Study

Language

Spanish is widely spoken and understood in cities and towns across the country. However further out in the countryside you will hear tribal languages, notably Quechua in the Andes.

Latin American Spanish, and Peruvian Spanish, do differ slightly in pronunciation and some words compared to European Spanish, it's unlikely that you will not be understood if you are speaking European Spanish.

Eat

Peruvian food menu

© All Rights Reserved Curleys

Peru has a wide range of traditional foods as well as the ever popular pollerias (chicken restaurants). Meals can be had for less than USD 1 in many restaurants across the country and eating in one of the most expensive restaurants in town is unlikely to set you back more than USD 20.

Traditional meats include guinea pig and Alpaca, though by far the most popular meat is chicken. There are many traditional dishes such as lomo saltado (stir fried beef strips, onion, pepper and chips), empanadas (shredded meat wrapped in pastry and deep fried) and ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice - be picky where you eat this as it's particularly susceptible to bugs).

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also: Travel Health

The Travel Medicine & International Vaccination Center is the first medicine center for travellers in Peru and represents a joint effort of GIPEIT (Peruvian Group for Research in Infectious and Tropical Diseases) and the Tropical Medicine Institute “Daniel A. Carrión” of the UNMSM. This is a center affiliated with the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) through its members. It offers specialized individual attention to travellers, and give direction to companies, public and private institutions through consultancies and conferences.

If you have any medical problems you can visit a pharmacy (farmacia) in most towns and cities who will be able to give you tablets for many problems, eg cipro for a badly upset stomach, or antibiotics for chest infections. Medicine is cheap and the pharmacist will give advice for free.

If you need stitching up or want to seek proper medical attention even the smallest of villages will usually have a clinic where you can be seen by a doctor for next to nothing.

Safety

There is a high security presence in cities like Lima and Cusco that are popular with tourists and you should safe from any violent crimes in the main areas of these cities. The main problem you will face is pick pocketing, so try to ensure your money/wallet/purse is securely stored and keep your hands in your pockets in high risk areas like markets and bus stations.

You should also try to use only official taxis, which will normally have large stickers on the wind screen and the number plate written on the rearside panel of the car.

If you do run into problems you should seek the tourist police who will be able to help you. However if your reporting a theft then it can take hours to fill in the forms as the police are cracking down on tourists making false claims which unfairly make the country look like it suffers from higher crime rates than it actually does.

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés can be found in all towns and cities and usually costs less than USD 1 per hour. Connection speeds are obviously considerably lower the more remote you are and the more people using the café.

Phone

Phone cards are cheap and easily available from shops or vendors who hang around pay phones. You'll often see people with a bundle of mobile phones who act as pay phones, they'll be shouting 'llamadas'.

Post

The post service is relatively efficient and post offices can be found in cities and some towns. Postcards are available from street vendors and shops at any touristy area.