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The land of gold and of the sun-worshipping
Incas, Peru was sixteenth-century
Europe's major source of treasure, and
once the home of the largest empire in
the world. Since then the riches of the
Incas have fuelled the European
imagination, although in many ways the
country's real appeal lies in the sheer
beauty of its various landscapes, the
abundance of its wildlife, and the
strong and colourful character of the
people - newly recovered after a period
of political upheaval, from the 1980s
until the early 1990s, that was as
bloody and unpredictable as any during
the country's history.
Above all, Peru is the most varied and
exciting of all the South American
nations. Most people visualize the
country as mountainous, and are aware of
the great Inca relics, but many are
unaware of the splendour of the immense
desert coastline and the vast tracts of
tropical rainforest . Dividing these
contrasting environments, chain after
chain of breathtaking peaks, the Andes ,
over seven thousand metres high and four
hundred kilometres wide in places,
ripple the entire length of the nation.
So distinct are these three regions that
it is very difficult to generalize about
the country, but one thing for sure is
that Peru offers a unique opportunity to
experience an incredibly wide range of
spectacular scenery, a wealth of
heritage, and a vibrant living culture.
The Incas and their native allies were
unable to resist the mounted and fire-armed
conquerors, and following the Spanish
Conquest in the sixteenth century the
colony developed by exploiting its Inca
treasures, vast mineral deposits and the
essentially slave labour which the
colonists extracted from the indigenous
people. After achieving independence
from the Spanish in the early nineteenth
century, Peru became a republic in
traditional South American style, and
although it is still very much dominated
by the Spanish and mestizo descendants
of Pizarro, some ten million Peruvians
(more than half the population) are of
pure Indian blood. In the country,
native life can have changed little in
the last four centuries. However, "progress"
is gradually transforming much of Peru -
already the cities wear a distinctly
Western aspect, and roads and tracks now
connect almost every corner of the
Republic with the industrial
urbanizaciones that dominate the few
fertile valleys along the coast. Only
the Amazon jungle - nearly two-thirds of
Peru's landmass but with a mere fraction
of its population - remains beyond its
reach, and even here oil and lumber
companies, cattle ranchers, cocaine
producers and settlers, are taking an
increasing toll.
Always an exciting place to visit, and
frantic as it sometimes appears on the
surface, the laid-back calmness of the
Peruvian temperament continues to
underpin life even in the cities. Lima
may operate at a terrifying pace at
times - the traffic, the money-grabbers,
the political situation - but there
always seems to be time to talk, for a
ceviche, another drink ? It's a country
where the resourceful and open traveller
can break through complex barriers of
class, race, and language far more
easily than most of its inhabitants can;
and also one in which the limousines and
villas of the elite remain little more
than a thin veneer on a nation whose
roots lie firmly, and increasingly
consciously, in its ethnic traditions
and the earth itself. |
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