Visiting Peru
For travel guide for Peru and practical advice regarding eating, drinking, shopping, how to get around, price levels on lodging and holiday accomodation (e.g. hotels, vacation rentals by owner, b&b's, vacation rental homes, holiday villas, condos, cabins, hostels, self-catering cottages) and safety hints please click here.

Peru facts, geography & history

Facts
Government: Constitutional republic.
Population (est.): 28,305,000.
Capital, population (est.): Lima, 8,200,000 (metro. area), 7,035,000 (city proper).
Language: Spanish, Quéchua (both official); Aymara; many minor Amazonian languages.
Monetary unit: Nuevo sol.

Geography
The territory of Peru covers 1,285,220 km² (496,193 mi²), which makes it the 20th-largest country in the world, comparable to Chad and double the size of the state of Texas. It neighbors Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The Andes mountain range runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean, dividing the country in three geographic regions. The costa (coast), to the west, is a narrow plain most of which is arid except for a number of valleys created by seasonal rivers. The sierra (highlands) comprises the Andes themselves, its territory combines massifs, canyons and plateaus. It includes the highest point of the country, Huascarán mountain at 6,768 meters above sea level, as well as the Altiplano plateau. The selva (jungle), to the east, is a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest extending up to the border with Brazil. Nearly 60% of national territory is in this region.
The peaks of the Andes are the source of many Peruvian rivers.Rivers that run through Peruvian territory are divided into three basins. Those that drain towards the Pacific Ocean are characterized by their short length, steep gradient and intermittent flow. Tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, have a much larger flow and low gradient once they exit the Andes. Finally, rivers that drain in Lake Titicaca are characterized by their short length and large flow. They form part of an endorheic basin, as it has no outlet to the sea. The largest rivers of the country are, in descending order, Ucayali, Marañón, Putumayo, Yavarí, Huallaga, Urubamba, Mantaro and Amazon, all of them part of the Amazon Basin.
The Amazon Rainforest hosts a wide variety of plants and animals.Climate is influenced by proximity to the Equator, the presence of the Andes and the cold waters of the Humboldt Current. The combination of this factors make for a wide climate diversity ranging from the dryness of the coast to the extreme cold of mountain peaks to the heavy rainfall of the Amazon Basin. The varied geography and climate of Peru account for its high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals reported as of 2003, 5,855 of them endemic. The Government has established several protected areas for their preservation................
Adopted from and read more at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru

History
If you are interested in this country's history, please take a look here.