49 Fun Facts About Peru

Which ancient civilization in Peru is considered the earliest known complex society in the Americas?

The Caral-Supe civilization, flourishing along Peru's coast north of Lima between about 3000 and 1800 BCE, is recognized as the earliest known complex society in the Americas.

Which lake in Peru's southern highlands is often called the world's highest navigable lake?

Lake Titicaca sits at 3,812 metres above sea level and is the largest lake in South America by volume, reaching a depth of about 280 metres.

The Amazon proper begins where the Marañón meets which other Peruvian river?

The Ucayali, itself formed by the Tambo and Urubamba, joins the Marañón near Nauta in Loreto; from that confluence the river carries the name Amazon.

Which Inca emperor was captured by the Spanish at Cajamarca in 1532?

Atahualpa, the last sovereign Inca ruler, was seized by the Spanish at Cajamarca in November 1532; he filled a room with gold and silver as ransom and was executed in 1533.

Which Indigenous language, once the Inca Empire's tongue, is co-official in Peru?

Quechua, the Inca Empire's administrative language, is the mother tongue of roughly one in seven Peruvians, concentrated in the Andean highlands, and is official where it predominates.

Which Peruvian dish is raw fish marinated in lime juice and spiced with aji peppers?

Ceviche is a quintessential Peruvian dish, revered for its refreshing blend of fresh raw fish or seafood cured in citrus juices.

What is the capital and largest city of Peru?

Lima was founded by the Spanish in 1535 as La Ciudad de los Reyes, the City of Kings; its metropolitan area holds roughly a third of Peru's population.

Which Peruvian writer won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature?

Mario Vargas Llosa, born in Arequipa in 1936, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature for novels such as The Time of the Hero and Conversation in the Cathedral.

Which bird, one of the largest flying birds on Earth, is a national symbol of Peru?

The Andean condor, with a wingspan up to about 3.3 metres, ranks among the largest flying birds by combined weight and wingspan, soars on thermals, and can live past 60 years.

Peru is considered the origin of which tuber, with over 3,000 varieties grown in the country?

Peru is the birthplace of the potato, and its highlands are home to an astonishing genetic diversity, boasting over 3,000 native varieties of this staple crop.

Which Inca citadel high in the Andes is often called the 'Lost City of the Incas'?

Machu Picchu is a magnificent 15th-century Inca citadel nestled high in the Andes Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Peru shares its western border with which ocean?

Peru is located on the western coast of South America and is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean.

Which American historian brought Machu Picchu to international attention in 1911?

Bingham was actually hunting for Vilcabamba, the last Inca capital; a local farmer's son led him up to the ruins.

Which conquistador founded the city of Lima in 1535 as the seat of Spanish rule?

Pizarro was assassinated in his Lima palace in 1541 by followers of his rival Diego de Almagro.

What is the name for the Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine, which is very popular in Lima?

Chifa is Peru's Chinese-Peruvian cooking, created by Cantonese immigrants who began arriving in 1849 as contract labourers; arroz chaufa, its fried rice, is a national staple.

Which wild camelid, prized for the world's finest wool, is Peru's national animal?

Under the Inca only royalty could wear vicuña cloth; the animal appears on Peru's coat of arms.

What is the official currency of Peru?

It replaced the inti in 1991 as the 'nuevo sol'; one new sol was worth a billion of the old soles abandoned in 1985.

How many times did Peru's men win the Copa América in the 20th century?

La Blanquirroja won the Copa América two times in the 20th century: in 1939 as host in Lima, and in 1975 under a home-and-away format.

Peru is traditionally divided into three regions: the costa, the sierra, and which third region?

The selva, or jungle, is the wide flat expanse of Amazon rainforest that covers most of eastern Peru.

In Peru, the traditional dish cuy is made from which animal?

Cuy is guinea pig, domesticated in the Andes thousands of years ago and usually served roasted or fried whole; Cusco cathedral's Last Supper painting even shows one on the table.

Which pre-Inca kingdom built Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the Americas?

Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimor kingdom, also called the Chimú, and the largest city of pre-Columbian South America; it fell to the Incas around 1470.

Which cold ocean flow running up Peru's coast helps give the country its unusual range of climates?

The Humboldt Current keeps the coast a desert while feeding one of the richest fisheries on Earth.

What is the highest mountain peak in Peru?

Mount Huascarán, standing at 6,768 meters (22,205 feet) above sea level in the Cordillera Blanca, is the highest peak in Peru.

Which Peruvian city is nicknamed the 'White City' for its buildings of pale volcanic sillar stone?

Arequipa is famously known as the 'White City' because many of its colonial-era buildings are constructed from sillar, a white volcanic stone.

Which Inca festival of the sun, banned in 1572, was revived at Sacsayhuamán in 1944?

Inti Raymi honours the sun god Inti at the June solstice; the Spanish banned it in 1572, and a 1944 revival turned it into a re-enactment held each 24 June at Sacsayhuamán.

Which Andean grain, domesticated around Lake Titicaca, is often marketed as a 'superfood'?

Quinoa, a pseudocereal domesticated in the Andes around Lake Titicaca thousands of years ago, contains all nine essential amino acids, which earned its 'superfood' label; Peru and Bolivia have long grown most of the world's crop.

Which canyon near Arequipa, about 3,270 m deep, is Peru's best-known condor-watching site?

Colca Canyon, about 3,270 metres deep, is roughly twice the depth of the Grand Canyon; at its Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint condors ride the morning thermals.

The Uros people build their floating islands on Lake Titicaca from what plant?

The Uros build and constantly re-layer their islands from totora reed, which rots from below; about 120 islands float near Puno, and the reed is also eaten and made into boats.

In which year did Peru formally declare its independence from Spain?

Peru formally proclaimed its independence from Spain on July 28, 1821, although full independence was achieved after the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824.

What is the world's largest rodent, found in the rivers and marshes of Peru's Amazon lowlands?

Capybaras live in every South American country except Chile and can weigh over 60 kg.

Which city was the historical capital of the Inca Empire?

Cusco, often referred to as the 'navel of the world' by the Incas, was the powerful and spiritual capital of the vast Inca Empire.

What is the Quechua name of Peru's striped 'Rainbow Mountain' near Cusco?

Vinicunca, about 5,000 metres high, owes its stripes to bands of sediment coloured by iron, copper and sulphur minerals; it became a mass-tourism draw only in the mid-2010s.

Peru was the world's second-largest producer of which metal in 2019?

Copper is Peru's top export; in 2019 the country produced about 2.4 million tonnes, second only to Chile, much of it from the Cerro Verde, Las Bambas and Antamina mines.

Which Peruvian jungle river dolphin is the largest of its kind, with adult males turning pink?

The boto, or Amazon river dolphin, can weigh 185 kg; local legend says it turns into a handsome man at night.

What is the fermented corn beverage of Peru, alcoholic or not, called?

Chicha is the corn beverage of the Andes: chicha de jora is fermented from malted maize and was the Inca ceremonial drink, while chicha morada is an unfermented purple-corn soft drink.

Which two South American countries are larger than Peru by area?

Brazil (about 8.5 million km²) and Argentina (about 2.8 million km²) are the only South American countries larger than Peru, whose 1.29 million km² ranks third.

Which northern Peru culture, famed for portrait pottery, flourished from about AD 100 to 800?

Moche potters made stirrup-spout vessels so lifelike that individual rulers can be recognised across several portraits.

In which year did UNESCO add Peruvian ceviche to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list?

UNESCO inscribed Peruvian ceviche on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2023, recognising the dish's role in coastal fishing communities and everyday Peruvian life.

What is unusual about how you reach Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon?

Iquitos, home to over 400,000 people, is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road (islands aside); visitors arrive only by river boat or by air.

Which traditional Peruvian stew serves chicken in a creamy, spicy yellow sauce?

Aji de Gallina is a classic Peruvian dish featuring shredded chicken in a rich, creamy, and mildly spicy yellow sauce, typically served with rice and potatoes.

Peru is bordered to the north by Ecuador and which other country?

Colombia and Ecuador both border Peru to the north; the roughly 1,600 km Peru–Colombia line, fixed by the 1922 Salomón–Lozano Treaty, runs through Amazon rainforest to Leticia.

What percentage of Peru's population speaks Spanish as their primary language?

While Peru has multiple official and native languages, Spanish is the most widely spoken, with approximately 80-84% of the population considering it their mother tongue or primary language.

Which Andean root, the 'Peruvian ground apple', is a daisy-family plant with crisp sweet tubers?

Yacón stores its sweetness as inulin and fructooligosaccharides, fibres humans barely digest, which is why its syrup is marketed as a low-calorie sweetener; oca, mashua and ulluco are unrelated tubers.

Which Peruvian mining city, at about 4,330 m, is among the highest cities in the world?

Cerro de Pasco, capital of the Pasco region, sits about 4,330 metres up in the central Andes; its silver, lead and zinc mines have eaten an open pit into the city centre.

What is the Peruvian stir-fry of beef, onions, tomatoes and French fries called?

Lomo Saltado is a popular Peruvian stir-fry, a fusion dish that typically combines marinated strips of sirloin or other beef with onions, tomatoes, and French fries, served with rice.

Which of these South American countries shares a border with Peru?

Peru's five neighbours are Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.

The Paracas culture, famed for its textiles and skull surgery, flourished in which modern region of Peru?

The Paracas culture flourished on the peninsula of the same name in today's Ica region from roughly 800 to 100 BC; its mummies were wrapped in some of the finest embroidered textiles of the pre-Columbian Andes.

What is the large, ostrich-like flightless bird of the high Andean plains called?

The rhea is South America's ratite; the lesser or Darwin's rhea ranges up to Peru's altiplano, where the puna form, sometimes treated as its own species, lives above 3,500 metres.

Which cloud-forest fortress of the Chachapoyas culture stands in Peru's Amazonas region?

Kuélap, built by the Chachapoyas from about the 6th century AD, is a walled hilltop settlement of over 400 circular buildings in the Amazonas region; a cable car to it opened in 2017.