The Altiplano is considered one of the main centers of prehispanic cultural development. It was an area densely inhabited and strategic in terms of economy, politics, military and ideology, where diverse political and social societies settled. It also became, after a long process of adaptation to the harsh geographic conditions - high altitude and low temperatures - a vital center for the domestication of plants and...

It has always been said Qollao is the land of contrasts; the plateau of extremes said someone, and it is indeed. In few geographical areas do changes of scenery occur in such an abrupt manner: From a summer that gives us every tone of green, aromas, flowers, carnivals and joys, to an autumn of gold and yellows, and arduous harvesting work, and finally, to an earthy winter, dusty, cold and often sad. From the clear cobalt blue waters of the...

It is not easy to live in the Altiplano. This extensive territory located between the 12.139 and 15.091 fasl, is probably one of the most hostile zones in the planet. Yet, in it, plants and animals - humans included - have managed to adapt to the harsh climate and rough landscape: the cold fronts and freezing temperatures of July, the midday sun, the torrential rains of January or the prolonged drought of a bad year.

The Collao...

The traits that distinguish the dances, music and idiosyncrasy of puneños come from their cold, distant geography, different to that of other latitudes of Peru and America. This geography, hostile to foreigners, real and daily for those who live with it, meant maintaining customs or modifying them at a slower pace, like a majestic tempo that endured the exposure to variations in the economy and social dynamics that every history...

The Andean mountain range is a silent witness to the origin and development of one of the ancient world's most outstanding civilizations: the Incas, whose achievements depended on the way that, during thousands of years, native societies earned to transform and use natural resources to organize their land and invent economic mechanisms tailored to the Andean ecosystem.

Unlike other...

In order to figure out the inspiration of Baroque expression in the Americas, and the reason for its existence: what am I, why, how and where, José Lezama Lima once wrote: "lf we viere to gaze inside a church in the town of Juli, or one of the front walls of the Puno Cathedral, both of them in Peru, we would realize that among the leafy cascade of sculptures, riddled with emblems with a...

What one reads about Titicaca is usually filled with hyperbole. Superlatives seem almost inevitable when describing the mythical lake: it is the largest of the world's lakes at more than 2,000 meters above sea level; the second largest lake in all South America (after Maracaibo); and obviously the highest of the world's navigable lakes (3,812 meters above sea level). Titicaca's size is said to easily...

If one were to look at a map, one could easily gauge the immense territory of the Andean plains, which stretch from near Trujillo in northern Peru all the way down to Northwestern Argentina.

In the central and southern Andes, the high land plains are classified into three different types: marshy, dry, and desert. Practically the entire Peruvian stretch of high ground is riddled...

Peru is truly a natural paradise which contains 83% of the world's micro-systems and a host of natural resources providing spectacular scenery. The country has over 20 mountain ranges containing 36 snow-covered peaks; more than 1,000 mountains reach over 5,000 metres. These mountain ranges which form the backbone of the Andes are the home of most of Peru's lakes and lagoons. From a total of 12,201...