The land of gold and of the sun-worshipping Incas, Peru was
sixteenth-century Europe's major source of treasure, and once the
home of the largest empire in the world. Since then the riches of
the Incas have fuelled the European imagination, although in many
ways the country's real appeal lies in the sheer beauty of its
various landscapes, the abundance of its wildlife, and the strong
and colourful character of the people - newly recovered after a
period of political upheaval, from the 1980s until the early 1990s,
that was as bloody and unpredictable as any during the country's
history.
Above all, Peru is the most varied and exciting of all the South
American nations. Most people visualize the country as mountainous,
and are aware of the great Inca relics, but many are unaware of the
splendour of the immense desert coastline and the vast
tracts of tropical rainforest . Dividing these contrasting
environments, chain after chain of breathtaking peaks, the
Andes , over seven thousand metres high and four hundred
kilometres wide in places, ripple the entire length of the nation.
So distinct are these three regions that it is very difficult to
generalize about the country, but one thing for sure is that Peru
offers a unique opportunity to experience an incredibly wide range
of spectacular scenery, a wealth of heritage, and a vibrant living
culture.
The Incas and their native allies were unable to resist the
mounted and fire-armed conquerors, and following the Spanish
Conquest in the sixteenth century the colony developed by
exploiting its Inca treasures, vast mineral deposits and the
essentially slave labour which the colonists extracted from the
indigenous people. After achieving independence from the Spanish in
the early nineteenth century, Peru became a republic in traditional
South American style, and although it is still very much dominated
by the Spanish and mestizo descendants of Pizarro, some ten
million Peruvians (more than half the population) are of pure
Indian blood. In the country, native life can have changed little
in the last four centuries. However, "progress" is gradually
transforming much of Peru - already the cities wear a distinctly
Western aspect, and roads and tracks now connect almost every
corner of the Republic with the industrial urbanizaciones
that dominate the few fertile valleys along the coast. Only the
Amazon jungle - nearly two-thirds of Peru's landmass but with a
mere fraction of its population - remains beyond its reach, and
even here oil and lumber companies, cattle ranchers, cocaine
producers and settlers, are taking an increasing toll.
Always an exciting place to visit, and frantic as it sometimes
appears on the surface, the laid-back calmness of the Peruvian
temperament continues to underpin life even in the cities. Lima may
operate at a terrifying pace at times - the traffic, the
money-grabbers, the political situation - but there always seems to
be time to talk, for a ceviche, another drink … It's a
country where the resourceful and open traveller can break through
complex barriers of class, race, and language far more easily than
most of its inhabitants can; and also one in which the limousines
and villas of the elite remain little more than a thin veneer on a
nation whose roots lie firmly, and increasingly consciously, in its
ethnic traditions and the earth itself.