The Heart of the Inca Empire and One of South America’s Great Food Capitals

Peru is South America’s third-largest country and the heart of what was once the Inca Empire — the largest pre-Columbian American civilisation, spanning the Andes from modern Colombia to Chile at its peak in the early 16th century. Machu Picchu, the iconic Inca citadel rediscovered in 1911, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and South America’s most-visited tourism site. The country is home to substantial indigenous populations — approximately 25% of Peruvians speak Quechua (the Incan administrative language) and smaller numbers speak Aymara, both with official language status alongside Spanish.

Peru has also emerged in the past 25 years as one of the world’s great food destinations. The country’s restaurant scene, centred on Lima, has produced chefs (Gastón Acurio, Virgilio Martínez) whose restaurants (Central, Maido, Astrid y Gastón) regularly rank in global top 50 lists. Peruvian cuisine — the product of pre-Columbian Andean traditions, Spanish colonial influence, African slave contributions, and more recent Chinese (chifa) and Japanese (nikkei) immigrant waves — is now considered one of Latin America’s most sophisticated culinary traditions.

The country has three distinct geographic zones — the Pacific coast (arid, where Lima and most of the population live), the Andes (home to Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lake Titicaca), and the Amazon rainforest (covering roughly 60% of the country).

A Brief History

Pre-Columbian Peru hosted successive civilisations — Caral (c. 2600 BC, one of the oldest urban sites in the Americas), Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Wari, Chimú, and finally the Inca Empire (c. 1438-1532). At its peak, the Inca Empire included parts of modern Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia.

Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquest (1532) — with fewer than 200 men — overwhelmed the Inca Empire through a combination of horsepower, steel weapons, disease (smallpox had preceded the Spanish), and alliances with indigenous peoples resenting Inca domination. The Viceroyalty of Peru became one of Spain’s most important colonial possessions for 300 years.

Independence from Spain was achieved in 1821-1824. Subsequent decades brought the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) with Chile (Peru lost territory), the Shining Path insurgency (1980-2000) that killed around 70,000 people, and recent political volatility — Peru has had six presidents in the past five years (2020-2025) amid impeachments and resignations.

Geography and Climate

Peru covers 1,285,216 km² — about the size of Alaska or Turkey — with three geographic zones: coast (about 12% of land, 60% of population), Andean highlands (28% of land, 28% of population), Amazon rainforest (selva) (60% of land, 12% of population).

Culture, Language and Religion

Spanish is dominant, but Quechua and Aymara are co-official languages. Approximately 76% Catholic, with growing Protestant population and continued indigenous Andean religious practices.

The Economy

Peru has an upper-middle-income economy (~$290 billion GDP in 2024). Key sectors: mining (Peru is the world’s 2nd-largest copper producer and major silver, gold, zinc producer), fishing (Peru is one of the world’s largest anchovy fisheries), agriculture (coffee, asparagus, quinoa), tourism, manufacturing.

Cuisine

Peruvian cuisine combines Andean staples with Spanish, African, Chinese (chifa), and Japanese (nikkei) influences:

Ceviche — the national dish: raw fish “cooked” in lime juice with red onion, ají chili, and sweet potato
Lomo saltado — beef stir-fry (Chinese-Peruvian chifa fusion)
Ají de gallina — chicken in aji amarillo chili cream sauce
Anticuchos — grilled beef heart skewers
Papa a la huancaína — potato in yellow chili cheese sauce
Pisco sour — the national cocktail (pisco, lime, egg white, sugar)

Nature and UNESCO Sites

Peru has 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Machu Picchu (mixed cultural/natural), the City of Cuzco, Chan Chan Archaeological Zone, Huascarán National Park, Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Pampas de Jumana, Sacred City of Caral-Supe, and the Historic Centre of Lima.

Travel Guide

Entry & Best Seasons

Most Western nationalities enter visa-free for 90-183 days. May-September is dry season in the Andes.

Budget

Mid-range $70-$120 per day. Machu Picchu + Inca Trail adds significant cost.

Surprising Facts

Peru has the largest population of ancient people of any South American country — the Inca civilisation at its peak governed about 10-12 million people.⁶
The Nazca Lines — 300+ geoglyphs cut into the desert floor between 500 BC and 500 AD — are only fully visible from the air, making their purpose a 20th-century mystery.¹
Lake Titicaca on the Bolivia-Peru border is the world’s highest commercially navigable lake (3,812 m altitude).¹
Peru has over 3,000 varieties of potatoes — the plant is indigenous to the Peruvian Andes.⁶
Cusco — the former Inca capital — sits at 3,400 metres, significantly higher than Machu Picchu; visitors often underestimate altitude acclimatisation.³
The Peruvian Amazon contains approximately 10% of the world’s Amazon rainforest — the second-largest share after Brazil.⁴

Sources and References

See the list of cited sources in the page frontmatter.

Peru

Key facts