Peru
Capital: Lima
Size: About 496,225 square miles (1,285,216 sq km).
Language: Spanish and Quechua (with Aymara and other Indigenous languages too)
Currency: Peruvian sol
Capital population: Lima has about 9.7 million people (over 10.7 million in the metro area).
Population: About 34 million people.See the biggest cities →National animal: Vicuna (a gentle wild relative of the llama with very soft wool)
National flower: Cantuta (the sacred flower of the Incas)
Climate
Varied: dry desert on the coast, cool in the high Andes, and hot and wet in the Amazon jungle. In Lima highs are often around 70F to 80F (21C to 27C).
Main industries
Mining is huge: copper, gold, and silver, plus fishing, farming, and textiles from alpaca wool.
Top places for tourists
Machu Picchu, the famous Inca city high in the mountains, the ancient capital of Cusco, and Lake Titicaca.
Places of interest
The mysterious Nazca Lines, giant drawings in the desert that can only be seen clearly from high above.
A little history
Center of the mighty Inca Empire, Peru was a Spanish colony for about 300 years and won its independence in 1821.
Fun fact
The potato first came from Peru, where thousands of different kinds are still grown today.