Peru
From the Andes to the Amazon to the Pacific coast, a single nation holding three worlds and one of the deepest civilizations in the Americas.
In 1821, José de San Martín stood before Lima's main plaza and declared, "From this moment on, Peru is free and independent by the general will of its people and by the justice of its cause." He had crossed the Andes from Argentina and Chile to help secure that freedom, one of the great feats of the independence era.
Peru's motto, "Firme y Feliz por la Unión" (Firm and Happy for the Union), has appeared on its currency since the 1820s. It is a fitting companion to San Martín's declaration, a reminder that independence and unity were always meant to travel together, the same idea this hemisphere still holds today.
Get to Know Peru
Capital: Lima. Official language: Spanish, with Quechua and Aymara also official in the regions where they are spoken. Currency: the sol, meaning "sun." Peru was the heart of the Inca Empire, which once stretched across much of western South America before Spanish conquest in the 1530s.
Fun Facts
- Peru is the birthplace of the potato, with more than 3,000 native varieties still grown in the Andes.
- Lake Titicaca, shared with Bolivia, is often called the highest navigable lake in the world.
- The Nazca Lines, giant figures etched into the desert floor roughly 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, are so large they are best seen from the air.
- Peru is one of the most bird-diverse countries on Earth, with close to 1,800 recorded species.
- Ceviche, Peru's signature dish, has its own national holiday, National Ceviche Day, celebrated every June 28.
Why Visit
Peru rewards travelers who want extremes in one trip. Cusco and Machu Picchu remain the anchor for most visits, but the country also holds the Amazon rainforest, the desert coast, and the world's deepest canyons in the Colca Valley. Lima has become one of Latin America's most celebrated food cities, and the Sacred Valley still hosts Quechua communities farming the same terraced hillsides their ancestors built centuries ago.
Made in Peru
Peru is known for alpaca and vicuña wool textiles, fine flavor cacao, pisco, and coffee grown at altitude in the Andes. This space is reserved for a future Local Marketplace Spotlight, featuring Trust Standard certified Peruvian businesses once that pillar of the Americas Ecosystem exists. Soon.