Peru, officially the Republic of Peru is a country located on the western side of South America, whose territory borders the Pacific Ocean to the west and bounded on the north with Ecuador, northeastern Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia and southern Chile. It has a complex geography is dominated by the elevations of the Andes and the Pacific currents, which makes the climates and landscapes as widely varied as the desert coast, the highlands of the high Andes and the rainforest of the Amazon basin, all environments that shape the country as a land of great variety of natural resources.
The heterogeneity of geographic and climatic rigors of the country led to the first settlers early Peruvians to the twelfth millennium B.C. to adapt by developing one of the widest range of cultural traditions, as the oldest civilization of Caral that five thousand years ago, around the production cycles of each region, many of which resulted in a regional theocratic states. In early second century B.C., states began to be played, by periods, control of the peoples of the Andes. By the sixteenth century, the later and vast domain of these states, the Inca Empire was annexed by the Spanish conquerors with the support of dissident ethnic groups to Inca. The Spanish crown had established a viceroyalty that included most of its South American colonies. In 1821 the country became independent, basing a state that was immersed in internal and external conflict periods alternating periods of economic prosperity. The Peruvian population, estimated at more than 28 million people (2008), is multiethnic and mestizo important indigenous substrate which had become European ancestry, African and Asian, its mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, literature, music and local cuisine. The main and most widely spoken language is Castilian, although a significant number of Peruvians speak different native languages Quechua languages, with the largest number of speakers. It is developing countries with a high Human Development Index but even with economic inequalities that has been improving their revenue and decrease their level of poverty significantly in recent years. Their main economic activities include agriculture, fisheries, mining and manufacturing of products like textiles. Politically, the country has organized a representative democratic republic with a multiparty political system structured on the principles of separation of powers and decentralization.
It dividide in 25 regional constituencies (24 departments and the Constitutional Province of Callao).

The earliest evidence of human presence in Peruvian territory has been dated to approximately 9,000 BCE. The oldest known complex society in Peru and the Americas, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3000 and 1800 BCE. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures such as Chavin, Paracas, Mochica, Nazca, Wari, and Chimú. In the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using techniques such as irrigation and terracing; camelid husbandry and fishing were also important. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money.
In 1532, a group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro defeated Inca Emperor Atahualpa and captured him. Francisco Pizarro demanded gold and silver in exchange for the release of the Inca, and although Francisco Pizarro received a room of gold and the two following rooms with silver, up to the level of the reach of Atahualpa's arm, Atahualpa was executed and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Empire and imposed Spanish rule. Ten years later, the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included all of its South American colonies. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganized the country in the 1570s with silver mining as its main economic activity and Indian forced labor as its primary workforce. Peruvian bullion provided revenue for the Spanish Crown and fueled a complex trade network that extended as far as Europe and the Philippines. However, by the 18th century, declining silver production and economic diversification greatly diminished royal income. In response, the Crown enacted the Bourbon Reforms, a series of edicts that increased taxes and partitioned the Viceroyalty of Peru. The new laws provoked Túpac Amaru II's rebellion and other revolts, all of which were defeated.
In the early 19th century, while most of South America was swept by wars of independence, Peru remained a royalist stronghold. As the elite hesitated between emancipation and loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, independence was achieved only after the military campaigns of José de San Martin and Simon Bolívar. During the early years of the Republic, endemic struggles for power between military leaders caused political instability. National identity was forged during this period, as Bolivarian projects for a Latin American Confederation foundered and a union with Bolivia proved ephemeral. Between the 1840s and 1860s, Peru enjoyed a period of stability under the presidency of Ramón Castilla through increased state revenues from guano exports. However, by the 1870s, these resources had been squandered, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise.

Peru was defeated by Chile in the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, losing the provinces of Arica and Tarapacá in the treaties of Ancón and Lima. Internal struggles after the war were followed by a period of stability under the Civilista Party, which lasted until the onset of the authoritarian regime of Augusto B. Leguia. The Great Depression caused the downfall of Leguía, renewed political turmoil, and the emergence of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA). The rivalry between this organization and a coalition of the elite and the military defined Peruvian politics for the following three decades.

In 1968, the Armed Forces, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, staged a coup against President Fernando Belaunde. The new regime undertook radical reforms aimed at fostering development but failed to gain widespread support. In 1975, Velasco was forcefully replaced as president by General Francisco Morales Bermúdez, who paralyzed reforms and oversaw the reestablishment of democracy. During the 1980s, Peru faced a considerable external debt, ever-growing inflation, a surge in drug trafficking, and massive political violence. Some 70,000 people died during the conflict between state forces and Maoist Shining Path guerrillas. Under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), the country started to recover; however, accusations of authoritarianism, corruption, and human rights violations forced his resignation after the controversial 2000 elections. Since the end of the Fujimori regime, Peru has tried to fight corruption while sustaining economic growth; since 2006 the president is Alan García.

Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas"

Peruvian culture is primarily rooted in Amerindian and Spanish traditions, though it has also been influenced by various African, Asian, and European ethnic groups. Peruvian artistic traditions date back to the elaborate pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture of Pre-Inca cultures. The Incas maintained these crafts and made architectural achievements including the construction of Machu Picchu. Baroque dominated colonial art, though modified by native traditions. During this period, most art focused on religious subjects; the numerous churches of the era and the paintings of the Cuzco School are representative. Arts stagnated after independence until the emergence of Indigenismo in the early 20th century. Since the 1950s, Peruvian art has been eclectic and shaped by both foreign and local art currents.
Peruvian literature has its roots in the oral traditions of pre-Columbian civilizations. Spaniards introduced writing in the 16th century; colonial literary expression included chronicles and religious literature. After independence, Costumbrism and Romanticism became the most common literary genres, as exemplified in the works of Ricardo Palma. In the early 20th century, the Indigenismo movement produced such writers as Ciro Alegría, José María Arguedas, and César Vallejo. During the second half of the century, Peruvian literature became more widely known because of authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, a leading member of the Latin American Boom.
Peruvian cuisine is a blend of Amerindian and Spanish food with strong influences from African, Arab, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese cooking. Common dishes include anticuchos, ceviche, humitas, and pachamanca. Because of the variety of climates within Peru, a wide range of plants and animals is available for cooking. Peruvian cuisine has recently received acclaim due to its diversity of ingredients and techniques.
Peruvian music has Andean, Spanish and African roots. In pre-Hispanic times, musical expressions varied widely from region to region; the quena and the tinya were two common instruments. Spanish conquest brought the introduction of new instruments such as the guitar and the harp, as well as the development of crossbred instruments like the charango. African contributions to Peruvian music include its rhythms and the cajón, a percussion instrument. Peruvian folk dances include marinera, tondero, danza de tijeras, huayno and diablada.

Cebiche:

Papa a la huancaina:

Peru covers 1,285,220 km² (496,193 sq mi). It neighbors Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The Andes mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean, dividing the country into three geographic regions. The costa (coast), to the west, is a narrow plain, largely arid except for valleys created by seasonal rivers. The sierra (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau as well as the highest peak of the country, the 6,768 m (22,205 ft) Huascarán. The third region is the selva (jungle), a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east. Almost 60% of the country's area is located within this region, (70 million hectares) giving Peru the fourth largest area of tropical forest in the world after Brazil, Congo and Indonesia.
Most Peruvian rivers originate in the Andes and drain into one of three basins. Those that drain toward the Pacific Ocean are steep and short, flowing only intermittently. Tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, have a much larger flow, and are less steep once they exit the sierra. Rivers that drain into Lake Titicaca are generally short and have a large flow. Peru's longest rivers are the Ucayali, the Marañón, the Putumayo, the Yavarí, the Huallaga, the Urubamba, the Mantaro, and the Amazon.
Peru, unlike other equatorial countries, does not have an exclusively tropical climate; the influence of the Andes and the Humboldt Current cause great climatic diversity within the country. The costa has moderate temperatures, low precipitations, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches. In the sierra, rain is frequent during summer, and temperature and humidity diminish with altitude up to the frozen peaks of the Andes. The selva is characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its southernmost part, which has cold winters and seasonal rainfall. Because of its varied geography and climate, Peru has a high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals reported as of 2003; 5,855 of them endemic. The Peruvian government has established several protected areas for their preservation.