Peru - general information

The origin of the name of Peru is not definitively clarified. He was given to the land by the Spaniards, who most likely named him after an Indian chief from the isthmus area of Darien. From him they have, so a version of the name theory, first learned of the fabled gold country in the south. Another theory takes the name back to the word "pelu", which means "water" for the Chibcha living in Colombia.

The coastal region of Peru is significantly influenced by the Humboldt Current. The coastal desert allows agriculture only in the areas of rivers, from the Andes, in river oases.

The climate of this region brings the coastal strip, the Costa, during the year only extremely low rainfall. In the south on the Chilean border begins the driest desert on earth, the "Atacama Desert".

North of Lima, which is about half of the coastline, agriculture is also possible off the coast, as the soil quality is slightly better. Temperatures vary between 12 ° C in winter and 35 ° C in summer.

The larger cities of Peru are Lima, Tumbes, Piura, Ica, Nazca, Chimbote, Sullana, Trujillo, Huaral, Pisco, Chiclayo.