El Peru

From the Quechua voice Piruw, born the name of the majestic lands occupied by PERU, a country with more than 10 000 years of history. Old seat of the fabulous Inca Empire and other magnificent civilizations with a glorious past like Caral; Sipan Royal Tombs, the most elegant burial of America; the enigmatic Nazca lines; and the impotent Kuelap Fortress.

One of the most varied and complete nations upon earth. With 84 of the 117 Life Zones. Where we can travel from a golden desert to vertiginous mountains and a exuberant forest in a single sigh.

An exquisite territory. A rainbow of sounds, flavors, and colors that are pronounced in more than 50 native languages still in use. Thousand of dances and ancestral musical instruments that we can see and listen in great celebrations and processions.

A destination that locks up infinites destinations. The home of million people who give themselves with full heart to take care of your visit.

These, among others, are the reasons why NOVALYS has chosen PERU as our inspiration muse for the thousand nomad fantasies that, crowned of great quality, we can create for you.

Geography Peruvian

Peru’s territory has an area of 1,285,216 km². It is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia on the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, and finally Chile and Bolivia to the south. To the west lies the Pacific Ocean. Its population has more than 27 million inhabitants that speak Spanish, with others bilingual in Quechua or Aymara and other native languages.

Eastern Peru consists mostly of the moist tropical jungles of the Amazon Rain Forest, the largest on Earth. In the southeast along the border with Bolivia lies Lake Titicaca — the highest navigable lake in the world. The Altiplano plateau is a dry basin located along the slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. Along the border with Chile, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet.

The Peruvian Sea is home to a large amount and variety of fish life. The Sechura Desert is located in northwestern Peru along the Pacific coastline.The main rivers of Peru include the Ucayali, Marañon, Amazon (which is formed by the confluence of the Marañon and the Ucayali), Putumayo, Pastaza, Napo, Jurua, and the Purus.

Peru is divided in 24 departments and one constitutional province.

The largest main cities include:

• Lima (the capital and the economic and cultural centre)
• Arequipa
• Trujillo
• Chiclayo
• Callao (the contitutional province)
• Cusco (the capital of the ancient Inca Empire)
• Piura
• Tacna
• Ica, Puno, Chimbote, Huancayo, Cajamarca, Pucallpa, and Iquitos.
• Physiographic regions

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru (because of political reasons) into three main regions: the Coastal region, which is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the Highlands, that is located in the Andean Heights, and the Jungle, which is located on the Amazonian Jungle. But Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History approved this motion.

These eight regions are:

• Chala or Coast (subtropical dry and tropical savanna)
• Yunga
• Quechua
• Suni or Jalca
• Puna
• Janca
• Rupa – Rupa or High Jungle
• Omagua or Low Jungle

History Peruvian

When the Spanish landed in 1531, Peru’s territory was the nucleus of the highly developed Inca civilization. Centered at Cuzco, the Inca Empire extended over a vast region from northern Ecuador to central Chile. In search of Inca wealth, the Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro, who arrived in the territory after the Incas had fought a debilitating civil war, conquered the weakened people. The Spanish had captured the Incan capital at Cuzco by 1533 and consolidated their control by 1542. Gold and silver from the Andes enriched the conquerors, and Peru became the principal source of Spanish wealth and power in South America.

Pizarro founded Lima in 1535. The viceroyalty established at Lima in 1542 initially had jurisdiction over all of South America except Portuguese Brazil. By the time of the wars of independence (1820-24), Lima had become the most distinguished and aristocratic colonial capital and the chief Spanish stronghold in America.

Peru’s independence movement was led by Jose de San Martin of Argentina and Simon Bolivar of Venezuela. San Martin proclaimed Peruvian independence from Spain on July 28, 1821. Emancipation was completed in December 1824, when Gen. Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated the Spanish troops at Ayacucho, ending Spanish rule in South America. Spain made futile attempts to regain its former colonies, but in 1879 it finally recognized Peru’s independence.

After independence, Peru and its neighbors engaged in intermittent territorial disputes. Chile’s victory over Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) resulted in a territorial settlement. Following a clash between Peru and Ecuador in 1941, the Rio Protocol–of which the United States is one of four guarantors–sought to establish the boundary between the two countries. Continuing boundary disagreement led to brief armed conflicts in early 1981 and early 1995, but in 1998 the governments of Peru and Ecuador signed a historic peace treaty and demarcated the border. In late 1999, the governments of Peru and Chile likewise finally implemented the last outstanding article of their 1929 border agreement.

The military has been prominent in Peruvian history. Coups have repeatedly interrupted civilian constitutional government. The most recent period of military rule (1968-80) began when Gen. Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew elected President Fernando Belaunde Terry of the Popular Action Party (AP). As part of what has been called the “first phase” of the military government’s nationalist program, Velasco undertook an extensive agrarian reform program and nationalized the fish meal industry, some petroleum companies, and several banks and mining firms.

Because of Velasco’s economic mismanagement and deteriorating health, he was replaced by Gen. Francisco Morales Bermudez Cerruti in 1975. Morales Bermudez moved the revolution into a more pragmatic “second phase,” tempering the authoritarian abuses of the first phase and beginning the task of restoring the country’s economy. Morales Bermudez presided over the return to civilian government in accordance with a new constitution drawn up in 1979. In the May 1980 elections, President Belaunde Terry was returned to office by an impressive plurality.

Nagging economic problems left over from the military government persisted, worsened by an occurrence of the “El Niño” weather phenomenon in 1982-83, which caused widespread flooding in some parts of the country, severe droughts in others, and decimated the schools of ocean fish that are one of the country’s major resources. After a promising beginning, Belaunde’s popularity eroded under the stress of inflation, economic hardship, and terrorism.

During the 1980s, cultivation of illicit coca was established in large areas on the eastern Andean slope. Rural terrorism by Sendero Luminoso (SL) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) increased during this time and derived significant financial support from alliances with the narcotraffickers. In 1985, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) won the presidential election, bringing Alan Garcia Perez to office. The transfer of the presidency from Belaunde to Garcia on July 28, 1985, was Peru’s first exchange of power from one democratically elected leader to another in 40 years.

Economic mismanagement by the Garcia administration led to hyperinflation from 1988 to 1990. Concerned about the economy, the increasing terrorist threat from Sendero Luminoso, and allegations of official corruption, voters chose a relatively unknown mathematician-turned-politician, Alberto Fujimori, as president in 1990. Fujimori implemented drastic orthodox measures that caused inflation to drop from 7,650% in 1990 to 139% in 1991. Faced with opposition to his reform efforts, Fujimori dissolved Congress in the “auto-coup” of April 4, 1992. He then revised the constitution; called new congressional elections; and implemented substantial economic reform, including privatization of numerous state-owned companies, creation of an investment-friendly climate, and sound management of the economy.

Fujimori’s constitutionally questionable decision to seek a third term and subsequent tainted victory in June 2000 brought political and economic turmoil. A bribery scandal that broke just weeks after he took office in July forced Fujimori to call new elections in which he would not run. Fujimori fled the country and resigned from office in November 2000. A caretaker government presided over by Valentin Paniagua Corazao took on the responsibility of conducting new presidential and congressional elections, scheduled for April 2001. The new elected government will take office July 28, 2001.

Politic & Current Affairs

Former centre-left president Alan Garcia celebrated a dramatic political comeback in June 2006, 16 years after he left office with rock-bottom approval ratings. Hyperinflation, food shortages and a Maoist guerrilla insurgency plagued his 1985-1990 term; the president says he has learned from his mistakes.

He won a run-off vote in presidential elections having campaigned on promises to tackle poverty and boost economic growth. His rival, the political newcomer and former military man Ollanta Humala, was backed by Venezuela’s populist leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

President Garcia represents Peru’s oldest political party, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, or Apra. On taking office he announced an austerity drive – which included a cut in his own salary – and cited Chile as an economic role model.

His government has come under fire from environmental and human rights campaigners over plans to auction off swathes of the Amazon to oil and gas companies. They say the amount of Peruvian Amazon territory now open to oil exploration has risen from 13 to 70% in two years.

In October 2008, the entire Apra-led cabinet resigned after members of the party were implicated in a corruption scandal over the allocation of oil contracts. In an effort to restore public confidence in his administration, Mr Garcia appointed Yehude Simon, a leftist regional governor from outside the ruling party, as the new prime minister.

Mr Garcia’s predecessor, Alejandro Toledo, took office promising to wage “a head-on war on poverty” but struggled to improve the lot of the poor and to deliver on a pledge to create one million jobs over five years.

Mr Toledo oversaw economic growth but had to balance the need for economic prudence with calls for more spending on social programmes and public-sector wage increases.

He was beset by street protests and a string of scandals involving ministers, aides and family members.

Society Actual

Most Peruvians are “mestizo” a term that usually refers to a mixture of Amerindians and Peruvians of European descent. Peruvians of European descent make up about 15% of the population; there also are smaller numbers of persons of African, Japanese, and Chinese descent. In the past decade, Peruvians of Asian heritage have made significant advancements in business and political fields; a past president, several past cabinet members, and several members of the Peruvian congress are of Japanese or Chinese descent. Socioeconomic and cultural indicators are increasingly important as identifiers. For example, Peruvians of Amerindian descent who have adopted aspects of Hispanic culture also are considered “mestizo.” With economic development, access to education, intermarriage, and largescale migration from rural to urban areas, a more homogeneous national culture is developing, mainly along the relatively more prosperous coast.

Peru has two official languages–Spanish and the foremost indigenous language, Quechua. Spanish is used by the government and the media and in education and commerce. Amerindians who live in the Andean highlands speak Quechua and Aymara and are ethnically distinct from the diverse indigenous groups who live on the eastern side of the Andes and in the tropical lowlands adjacent to the Amazon basin.

Peru’s distinct geographical regions are mirrored in a socioeconomic divide between the coast’s mestizo-Hispanic culture and the more diverse, traditional Andean cultures of the mountains and highlands. The indigenous populations east of the Andes speak various languages and dialects. Some of these groups still adhere to traditional customs, while others have been almost completely assimilated into the mestizo-Hispanic culture.

Gastronomy Peruvian

The world-wide cuisine future pass through Peru…. Ferran Adria, El Bulli

Gastronomy is pure beauty, the synthesis of the most beautiful and enriching experiences lived by this country, A wonderful result which is there just to be enjoyed. Since the fact that is an ephemeral art, the gastronomy is perhaps the expression of greatest gentleness and the best to award the human being, since it involve the mouth, our first center of pleasing, and for some this is the most important, even, throughout the life.

The Peruvian Cuisine is a true Pandora’ Box for the world and a whole life-style Peruvians; probably most beautiful creation of this rich earth, characterized by the mélange of strong identities, reflection of its cultural mosaic.

According to great connoisseurs, it is one of most diverse of the world, which is visible in its 491 typical plates. It is also compared to French, Chinese e Hindu cuisine, according to the old gastronomical critic La Regniere. For that reason this country have got several records Guinness because of its variety and quality.

Peru has almost 5000 years of gastronomical history among preInca, Inca, colonial and republican period. Three centuries of Spanish culinary contribution (influenced initially for 762 years of Muslim civilization in the Iberian Pensinsula), the gastronomical customs brought by slaves from the Atlantic African Coast, the strong influence techniques coming with French and italian cookers, who ran away from European wars and finally stayed, in the capital of Spanish Viceroyalty. Others transcendental influences are Chinese – cantoneses, Japanese, and others European population like Greek and Rumanian (centuries XIX and XX). That’s why Peru’s cuisine flaunts ingredients and flavors coming from 4 continents.

Culinary arts in Peru are in constant evolution and this, added to the variety of traditional plates; ease the establishment of a complete list of representative plates. It is possible to mention that throughout the Peruvian coast exist more than two thousand five hundred different types from soups, also exist more than 250 traditional desserts.

The great variety of the Peruvian gastronomy is sustained in three sources:

• The particularitity of geography of Peru.
• The mixture of races and cultures.
• The adaptation of millenarian cultures to the modern cooking techniques.

Nevertheless the protagonists are the ingredients, acclimated in Peruvian lands (native and strangers aswell) allowing the evolution of different recipes, where coexists strong regional traditions and a permanent reinvention of plates. Peru is considered as the greatest world’s genetic center for many ancestral origin ingredients which are still in use. Thus we have:

• Potatoes, the root of all the varieties come from Peru. At the moment this counry cultivates 4000 varieties. The World-wide Potato Research and Genetic Preservation Center is seat in Peru. Potatoes were introduced first in Spain and soon in England by the end of century XVI and became the main nourishing source for many populations. In the rest of Europe served like food for animals until the phamacist Antoine Parmentier, whose outstanding invited to his dinners tasted plates done with potatoes, were convinced that this tubercle could be use in human feeding.
• Sweet potato, 2,016 varieties and the 65 % of the world-wide total production takes place in Peru.
• Red pepper, Original from Peru and brought to the rest of the world by the Spanish and Portuguese navigators, due to its vitamins that protects of scurvy. Nowadays some of its varieties like capsicum baccatum, ( yellow red pepper) and capsicum pubescens ( rocoto) are cultivated almost exclusively in Peru.
• Tomato, Recent researches indicate that the origin of the tomato was in the present territory of Peru and, although Mexicans gave it a name and a proper commercialization.
• Fruits, 650 original species in the Peruvian territory.
• Banana or banana tree, great number of introduced species from Africa.
• Chirimoya, Green rind fruit with a substantial white pulp, of peculiar aroma and sweetflavor. Doctor Fernando Cabieses Molina, important investigator in Nutritional basis in Peru sentences: “It is a fruit that always reigns and doesn’t need companions or clothes to prevail in any table… who tastes it never give it up!.
• Lúcuma like chirimoya, perhaps one of the greatest fruits of Peru with it has a very intense flavor and arome.
• Fish, two thousand species of fish, from the sea and from rivers (first place in the world).
• Tarwi (or ” chochos “), full of proteins.
• Wheat, 35 ecotypes shared with all Central America, arrived primitively in Europe as supplement for the cattle’s feeding and after diverse and ways became indispensable in the tables of the world.
• Many other nutritional products, like red peppers, cucurbitaceous, condiments, several tubercles and Andean grains.
• In its interchanges with the African and Asian continents, Peru developed other products like banana and lemon.
• There are many other ancient products that are being re use nowadays (for example in the nutrition of astronauts), as it is the case of quinua kañiwa, and kiwicha. Also it is possible to be found in the Peru native us ingredients coming from the Amazon forest like elder, camu camu (it contains highs vitamin C levels) or yacón (very recommended for the diabetics) and Uña de gato (popular by healing properties in cancer patients).

Peru, is truly a wonderful gastronomical destination able to satisfy the most exigent palates.

General Data

• Official Title: Republic of Peru.
• Capital: Lima.
• Population (million): 28.657.
• Total Area: 1,285,216 km2.
• Currency: 1 CAN$ = 2.7 Nuevo sol (PEN)(2008).
• National Holiday: July 28 (1821 Independance Day).
• Language(s): Spanish, Quechua, Aymara.

Political Information

• Type of State: Republic (25 regions and 1 province).
• Type of Government: Unicameral 120 – member Congress, President and Congress elected for 5-year term.
• Head of State: President Alan García.
• Head of Government: President Alan García.
• Ministers: PM – Yehude Simon, Foreign Affairs – José Antonio García Belaunde, Finance & Economy – Luis Carranza, Int. Com. And Tourism – Mercedes Araoz Fernández.
• Main Political Parties: Independent Moralizing Front, National Unity, Peru Possible, Peruvian Aprista Party (aka American Revolutionary Popular Alliance), Peruvian National Party, Popular Action, Popular Solution, We are Peru, Union for Peru.
• Elections: Next – 2011.

Economic Information

• GDP: (2008) ($ billion) 136.02
• GDP per capita: (2008) ($) 4746
• GDP growth rate: (2008) (%) 9.84
• Inflation: (2008) (%) 5.79
• Unemployment: (2008) (%) 0