Peruvian Geography & Culture

It's the multiple layers of great civilizations that make Peru so fascinating. Cobblestone streets preserve the era of the Conquistadors, the ruins of the lost city of Machu Pichu remind travelers of the once mighty Inca Empire, and the mysterious Nazca lines elude all explanation. On top of this the Peruvian Andes are arguably the most spectacular mountains on the continent and home to millions of highland Indians who still speak the ancient language of Quechua and maintain a traditional way of life. Then to the East and thousands of feet below, the lush Amazon Basin covers half of Peru and is one of the world's top 10 biodiversity hotspots - these are areas of super high species diversity that are under threat of being extinguished.

Lying along the Pacific Coast, Peru shares borders with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. It has three major regions: a narrow coastal belt, the wide Andean mountains and the Amazon Basin. The coastal strip is predominantly desert, but contains Peru's major cities and its best highway, the Carratera Panamericana. The Andes comprise two principal ranges - Cordillera Occidental and Oriental - and includes Huascarán (6768m/22,199ft), Peru's highest mountain. To the east is the Amazon Basin, a region of tropical lowlands, which is drained by the Maranon and Ucayali rivers.

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