PERU

Peru, the largest in area in the Andean countries, was the cradle of the most advanced indigenous civilizations and most powerful empire in pre-Columbian South America - that of the Incas. Peru was also the focus of Spanish colonial domination for its first two hundred years of rule. What remained of pre-Columbian America with regard to people, culture, and settlements is perhaps better represented in Peru than in any other country. The Andes are the site of the most fascinating pre-Columbian cities of South America-like the great city of the clouds, Machu Picchu.The country has a 2,400 kilometer (1,500 miles) long coast on the Pacific Ocean and borders Colombia and Ecuador in the north, Brazil and Bolivia on the east, and Chile on the south. It is the only country that borders all the other Andean states.

The Andes are by no means the only region to visit in Peru. Also of great interest is Peru's narrow, lowland coastal region, a northern extension of the Atacama Desert. Although the Atacama is generally known as the most arid region on the planet, the climate along Peru's shores is made cooler and less dry by La Garuùa, a dense fog created by the collision of the frigid waters of the Humboldt Current with the heated sands of the Atacama. Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo, three of Peru's major population centres, are located along this coastal desert.

Peru's third great region is the dense forest that surrounds the headwaters of the Amazon beneath the eastern slopes of the Andes. This part of the country is so inaccessible that only the most adventurous and intrepid travelers should attempt to penetrate its mysterious emerald depths. In fact, the region's capital of Iquitos, a city of 400,000, is accessible only by air or by boat up the Amazon.

Peru's climate varies considerably by region, although January through March tends everywhere to be the wet season. The coastal areas, which are quite hot and humid during those months, are cooled during the rest of the year by La Garuùa. The fog doesn't penetrate very far inland, however, and the western side of the Andes are very clear, warm, and dry for the greater part of the year. As one moves up into the mountains, night-time temperatures become considerably colder. The eastern slope of the Andes, like the Amazon basin, experiences very heavy rainfall during the wet season, which extends from January all the way through April.

The Spaniards made it the capital of most of their colonial posessions in Souh America and only toward the end of the colonial period was its dominance confined to the Viceroyalty of Peru. The Spanish city was laid out in a rectangular pattern around a central square (plaza), a pattern that the old city retains to this day, although much of the original city was ruined by an earthquake in 1746. The city and conurbation has been growing rapidly since the beginning of the tweentieth century, first in the south, where settlements that grew into towns became the forst suburbs of Lima, then westward into the open area separating Lima from Callao. Many old colonial style buildings have been preserved in the older part of the city, which now forms Lima's center. These include the cathedral, churches, government buildings, and private mansions. Some of the towns in the southwestern part of the conurbation, such as Miraflores, are wealthy residential suburbs and seaside resorts.

Lima dominates Peru's economic and cultural life. It has five national Universities (including the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, which is the oldest in the Americas) and seven private universities, attended by a total of more than 150,000 students. There are also many museums and galleries.