Peru is a land of legends and mysteries. This is a country with amazing traditions, distinctive culture, unique history. What are the features of this country? What are the characteristics of the population of Peru? What is the name of the capital of this country? These issues are covered in the text of the article.
Geographical features of Peru
Peru occupies a vast territory in the western part of mainland South America. The state is considered one of the largest on the mainland - after Brazil and Argentina. It borders with Ecuador and Colombia in the north, with Brazil in the east, and in the south with Chile and Bolivia. The country of Peru has a long coastline along the Pacific Ocean, a narrow strip of which is a desert plain - Costa. To the east - the majestic Andes. Here rises one of the highest mountain peaks - Huascaran.
Even eastward inland, the
Amazonian lowland is located
. The climate in the country is diverse: on the coast about 20 degrees, in the mountains also, but dry and windy, intense heat and high humidity in the jungle of the Amazonian plain.
History of Peru: Legendary Incas
Peru is one of the most visited countries in South America. Most tourists are attracted by the ancient monuments of the Inca Empire, located in the Peruvian Andes. This is a great civilization that existed in the 12-16th centuries. The population of Peru keeps legends associated with this tribe. As if the ancestor of the tribe was Manko Kapaka, who emerged from Lake Titicaca. This is an Indian tribe, the largest in world history.
The Inca cult was common in a number of current Latin American countries - from Ecuador to Argentina. The achievements of the Inca super-civilization still amaze scientists. For example, their manner of writing - with ropes and knots, their administrative division, laws, economics, roads, water pipes and much more. The Inca empire is largely considered exemplary: due to the strictness of laws, the tribe lacked corruption, there were no robberies and relatively few crimes. The Inca people are also unique because history does not know examples of the creation of a civilization of this scale in high mountains.
Peruvian people
The composition of the population of Peru is very diverse. About half are Quechua Indians (by the way, their language is official) and Aymara. The Quechua people, according to historians, are a descendant of the Incas.
A significant part of the population is mestizos and creoles - about 30%. A few percent are Spaniards, African Americans, Japanese, and Chinese. For many centuries, the country is densely populated. For example, during the heyday of the Incan civilization, the number of residents of the state was 4% of the total percentage
of the world's population. Now the population of Peru is about 31.2 million people.
When considering the religious composition of the country's inhabitants, it should be noted that more than 80% of the population, including Indians, profess Catholicism. Evangelicals make up about 13%. The remaining inhabitants are atheists and undecided.
Population features
The European discoverers of the lands of Peru were Spaniards. They broke the Inca Empire, created an immigration center here - the current capital of the country - Lima. The onslaught of the Europeans was not too cruel: even today many Native American tribes, with their own special rites and traditions, have remained intact.
The distribution of the country's inhabitants is not uniform. The population of Peru is concentrated mainly in that natural zone called Costa. This is the land of the Pacific coast. Sierra, i.e. mountain valleys, is less populated. Selva is poorly populated - this is the name of the Amazonian jungle.
Interesting is the fact that the largest Japanese diaspora in South America has been created in this country. The Japanese even headed the country in the last decade of the 20th century - this is Alberto Fujimori, the first Japanese ever to head not Japan.
Culture of Peru
The population of Peru is distinguished by benevolence, selflessness and simplicity. Their culture is unique. Mariner - a romantic and passionate dance of the Peruvians, performed with a guitar. The dance with complex steps and white shawls in the hands is calm and gentle, unlike other Latin American dances. Another Peruvian dance - the dance of scissors - is one of the cultural heritage of the UNESCO organization. Danzaki, male dance performers, perform ritual-like movements to the sounds of harp and violin.
Scissors in the hands of men close in the most intense moments of the dance as a sign of opposition to evil spirits. Men do not just move beautifully, they demonstrate their acrobatic abilities and masterly mastery of the subject.
Exceptional costumes of the population of Peru, festivals, traditional ancient holidays.
Capital and major cities
The country of Peru is administratively divided into regions, of which 25. Lima is the capital of the state. 1/4 of the total population of the country lives in it. It is a city founded by the Spaniards on the Pacific coast. Here is the historical center of Peru, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other major cities in Peru are Arequipa and Trujillo, also founded by the Spaniards on the coast. The population in them is approaching a million.
Peru Tourism
Peru attracts tourists from all over the world with its many archaeological sites, hikes in the Amazon jungle, colonial architecture and many others. One of the most visited tourist centers of the country is the Inca city - Machu Picchu.
It is called the City in Heaven, since it was built at an altitude of more than 2400 m. The architecture of the city impresses with the Inca's unique urban planning abilities, because each stone is selected here with amazing accuracy.
Another of the most visited places in Peru is the city of Cuzco. He was considered the capital of the Inca Empire. There are a large number of archaeological sites full of legends and mysteries of ancient civilization.