√ Basic information on Peru (South America)
Peru
National flag of Peru
Welcome in Peru, the most fascinating destination in South America.
Peru is an incredible mixture of archaeology, historical monuments, nature and adventure.
Peru in numbers/basic information on Peru
- Inhabitants: ~ 28.674.000
- Area of Peru: 1.285.220 km² (496.226 square miles)
- Spoken languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymará
- Borders with: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador
- Capital: Lima
- Seat of the congress/parliament: Lima
- Seat of the government: Lima
- Head of State and Government Chief: Alan García
- Typical products: fish and fish products, gold, copper, zinc, petroleum, coffee, sugar, cotton
- Voltage: 220 V / 60 Hz
- Telephone prefix number, Peru phone country code: +51
- Time Zone: GMT/UTC -5 hours
- When you opened this page in Peru it was 23:37 h.
- Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)
Regions of Peru
Geographically, Peru is divided in three regions:
The Coastal area next to the Pacific Ocean, featuring deserts, beautiful beaches and fertile valleys.
The Highlands area dominated by the Andes Mountain Range, with elevations as high as 6.768 meters above sea level (22.204 feet) at the summit of the Huascarán snow-capped peak.
The Jungle area of lush tropical vegetation forming part of the Peruvian Amazon Region, home to Peru’s largest nature reserve areas.
Highlights
Visit the great Peruvian cities, hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, take a trip to Lake Titicaca in Puno, overfly the Nazca Lines, visit the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world (3,400 mts), embark on a natural experience to the Paracas National Reserve or navigate through the Amazon Jungle to visit the Tambopata and Manu Natural Reserves.
Titicaca: The Lake of Gods
Lake Titicaca is in the heart of the region of Puno and on one of the most important points of the South American continent.
This wonderful lake connects Peru and Bolivia. It is around 283 m. deep and 190 km. long if you consider the territories of both countries and is on an altitude of 3.810 m. It is the highest and one of the longest navigable lakes in the world. Despite the altitude of the place, the temperature of the water is around 10° C, ideal aquatic life. The lake houses a great number of animal species such as wild ducks, different birds and fish (suche), the carachis.
The totora, an edible plant used to build floating islands, houses and caballitos de totora (typical boats) is the most representative. From all the islands on the Peruvian side of the lake, Taquile, Uros, Suasi and Amantani are the most important. Uros is made up of many floating islands, which are currently inhabited by the Aimaras, the heirs of customs of the lost town of Uros.
The villagers fish with rustic nets and live in huts. Taquile on the other hand is in the center of the lake, four hours from the city of Puno. This island is very special; their habitants speak quechua, and not Aymara (the language of the region). The people are mainly fishermen and weavers that wear beautiful multi color attires as the chumpi or the llicllas.
In the island there is not any noise, policemen, electricity or dogs.
About Visas in Perú
Remember: When you arrived in Peru you were issued with an entry permit. First, make sure you know how many days you were given! Whichever entry permit you have received, you must renew this at least one day before it expires. Be careful - 60 days does not translate as 2 months. Do not forget! One way to renew your visa is to cross an international border. From Cusco a visit to Bolivia (Copacabana, La Paz) via the fabulous Lake Titicaca is the quickest and easiest trip enabling a visa extension. Alternatively, extensions can be made for one month at a cost of around $28 US at Immigrations in Cusco. This will take you most of a morning.
More information and interesting Web-Sites regarding Peru:
Bus/Tourist Transportation Company - travel troughout Peru on comfortable buses, ask for rates and reservations via chat. Main destinations: Arequipa, Lima, Trujillo, Máncora, Tumbes, Paracas etc.
Web-Site available in Spanish (español).
