Why Travel To Peru?

Heir to a millennial legacy, Peru is culturally and naturally privileged. It´s astonishing variety of climates and ecosystems, combined with the convergence of numerous cultures, render unique expressions that are reflected in its native people and in the testimonies of the past that are part of its landscape. All these have labeled Peru as one of the few "mega-diverse" countries in the globe.

Peru, a Natural Paradise, goes beyond the presentation of our country's beauty, it presents different alternatives of tourism. As well as the option of living a unique experience by exploring history, culture, nature and adventure, taking into account the point of view that the Natural Protected Areas offers us.

Peru has 84 of the world's 103 possible ecosystems and 28 of its 32 climate types. It is also one of the 12 countries with the greatest biological diversity on earth. Its mountains, deserts, rivers and sand dunes are excellent for growing coffee, cocoa, exotic fruit and Andean cereals, among others. As far as plant life is concerned, Peru contains 25,000 species (10% of the world's total) of which 30% are endemic. This makes Peru the fifth country in the world with the most number of species. The country is home to: 462 species of mammals, 1,856 species of birds, 395 species of reptiles, 403 species of amphibians, 2,000 species of fish, and 3,000 species of butterflies.

The Peruvian State has taken under its protection 63 Protected Natural Areas, under SINANPE´s ( The National System of Natural Areas Protected by the State) jurisdiction, an entity that is included in the INRENA ( National Institute of Natural Resources). These areas are in turn split up into a variety of categories in regard to their use: parks, reserves, national sanctuaries, historic sanctuaries, reserved zones, game preserves, protected forests, and communal reserves. The most important of these are the first five mentioned.

Ten thousand years of history are lived through 180 museums and archaeological sites. The word in itself, Peru, inevitably and immediately evokes images of Machu Picchu and the Inca Empire.  The country is also riddled with archaeological sites which are a legacy of even more ancient times, when great civilizations bequeathed a legacy of their art, customs, rituals, and of development itself.

Within Peru there are 11 sites that have been declared "Cultural and Natural Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO:

Peru celebrates about 3,000 popular festivities a year. Most of them are held in homage to a patron saint; and are made part of the Christian calendar adopted in colonial times. However they have been oddly blended with the magical-religious beliefs of a particular region.

Peruvian cooking is famous throughout the world because of its variety of flavors, dishes and original ingredients. Being a country with a large fishing industry, it is easy to find dishes: creatively prepared, and made up of fish and shellfish. The most frequently encountered basic ingredients in Peruvian food are: rice, potatoes, chicken, pork, mutton and fish. The majority of dishes also include one or more types of chilli peppers: yellow, red, limo or rocoto. Other ingredients native to the country are potatoes and tomatoes, known mainly by ancient Peruvians and taken by the Spanish to Europe. Peru has 468 typical dishes, making it - according to the Guinness Book of World Records - the country with the largest variety of cuisine in the world. Emblematic dishes include: cebiche, which is prepared up and down the coast, Creole dishes (stir-fried beef and chillied chicken), pachamanca from the Andes and "juane" from the jungle.