|
|
|
|
 |
Multiple layers of great civilizations make Peru a fascinating country to visit. Peru offers the traveler a wide variety of experiences, from visiting colonial cities which have preserved the legacy of the Spanish conquistadors to exploring the great cities of Pre-columbian civilizations, including the Incan ceremonial center, Machu Picchu. In visiting Peru, the open and resourceful traveler begins to understand that despite deep seeded class and racial barriers, Peru is a country whose roots lie firmly in the indigenous ethnic traditions and in the earth itself.
Peru can be divided into three distinct geographic regions. The best known of these is the central high sierra of the Andes, the site of the great city of the clouds, Machu Picchu. Second is Peru's narrow, lowland coastal region, a northern extension of the Atacama Desert and the site of three of Peru's major population centers-- Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Peru's third great region is the dense forest that surrounds the headwaters of the Amazon beneath the eastern slopes of the Andes. The region's capital, Iquitos, is accessible only by air or by boat up the Amazon.
About 45 percent of Peru's inhabitants are Native Americans. The Peruvian Andes, arguably the most beautiful on the continent, are home to millions of highland Indians who still speak the ancient tongue of Quechua and maintain a traditional way of life. Approximately 100 other indigenous groups live in the rain forests of eastern Peru in virtual isolation from the rest of Peru's population, speaking traditional languages and surviving by hunting, fishing, and agriculture.
Many of the indigenous people are descendants of the famed Inca, who ruled an extensive South American empire centered in the Peruvian highlands. The realm of the Inca grew from little more than the river valley around Cuzco in 1430 to a vast territory of almost 1 million square kilometers, extending from northwest Argentina to southern Colombia, a century later. The Incan capital was undoubtedly the richest city in all of the Americas, with temples literally sheathed in heavy gold plate. Conquered by Spaniards in the 16th century, the rise and fall of the Incan empire remains one of the most dramatic and storied events in history. To this day, legends of caches of Incan gold hidden high in the Andean mountains continue to draw treasure seekers to Peru. And yet one does not need to climb mountains to find the riches of Peru-the wealth of the country is everywhere evident.
 |
Learn Spanish in Peru: Cusco |
|
 |
|
|
){kind=link}