Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Land
On the coast, a narrow strip of land which lies below 1000m in elevation hugs the coun-
try's 3000km-long shoreline. Consisting primarily of scrubland and desert, it eventually
merges in the south with Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. The
coast includes Lima, the capital, and several major agricultural centers - oases watered by
dozens of rivers that cascade down from the Andes.
The Andes, the world's second-greatest mountain chain, form the spine of the country.
Rising steeply from the coast, they reach spectacular heights of more than 6000m just
100km inland. Peru's highest peak, Huascarán (6768m), located northeast of Huaraz, is
the world's highest tropical summit and the sixth-tallest mountain in the Americas.
Though the Peruvian Andes reside in the tropics, the mountains are laced with a web of
glaciers above elevations of 5000m. Between 3000m and 4000m lie the agricultural high-
lands, which support more than a third of Peru's population.
