Peru has been privileged with spectacular geography and an unparalleled variety of climates. The country has the world's highest navigable lake (Titicaca) and the greatest river (the Amazon), also the national park with the greatest biodiversity (Manu), and the the second deepest canyon after the Colorado (USA) in the world (Colca). Mount Huascaran, at 6,768m (22,200 ft) is South America's fourth tallest mountain. This is why Peru has 84 of the planet’s 104 recognised ecosystems.

Considered one of the 12 countries that possess true mega-diversity (along with Brazil, Indonesia, and Zaire); Peru contains more than 20% of the known plant and animal species in the world. It has more than 25,000 species of flora, 1,760 bird species, 361 varieties of mammals, 251 species of amphibians, 297 different reptiles and more than 2,000 varieties of fish, to name only a few of the most important groups. Insects are a special case: more species of ants have been documented in a single tree of the Peruvian Amazon than in all of the British Isles.

Probably no other country in the whole world has such an astonishing archaeological heritage as Peru. The spell-binding ruins of Machu Picchu and the mysterious desert lines of Nazca, which can only be viewed from the air, are just two of the many fabulous Inca and pre-Inca remains to enjoy. To these must be added the colonial treasures to be found gilding the magnificent cities of Cusco and Arequipa and those of Lima, which was once the centre of the Spanish empire in South America. However, fascinatingly, many of the country’s treasures remain unexcavated!

PERU TRIPS

PERU, AMAZON TO ANDES, JUNGLE, MOUNTAINS, ANCIENT CULTURES