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| Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. |
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| Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions and the province of Lima, the capital. Each region has an elected government composing of a president and a council. These governments are primarily engaged with regional development. |
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Perhaps no other country in South America has more to offer the visitor than Peru; panoramic mountain ranges, vast deserts, beautiful beaches and tropical jungle. All this combined with a rich historical and archaeological past and enduring indigenous cultures.
World class Peru tourist attractions include the Inca city of Machu Picchu. A 30 minutes' walk south of the main complex takes the visitor to the Inca Bridge, carved into the vertiginous cliff face. A visit to Machu Picchu may be complemented with a visit to Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, founded AD 1100. Outside Cusco are four nearby Inca ruins, of which Sacsayhuaman is the most impressive (the others are Puca Pucara, Qenko and Tambo Machay).
Other important tourist attractions are the Amazon jungle, Lake Titicaca, the Inca Trail, the Nazca Lines and the Colca Canyon which is the deepest canyon in the world.
About 10 kilometers from Salirenas de Maras are the salt pans of Mara. These pre-Inca salt pools were constructed during the Chanapata culture between AD 200 and AD 900, from a natural salt spring. Terraces were carved from the hillside and through a system of natural irrigation and gravity (still in perfect use today) the water courses along channels to form pools of water, which evaporate in the sun to leave salt deposits. There are over 3,000 pools still in use.
Peru's geography varies from the plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes mountains and the tropical forest of the Amazon Basin. Unlike other equatorial countries, Peru does not have an exclusively tropical climate; the influence of the Andes and the Humbolt Current causes great climatic diversity within the country. |
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Map of South America |
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