Peruvian Facts and Trivia                                

• The Capital of Peru is Lima.
  
  
• While Spanish is the official language, millions of the highland Indians still speak their native languages of Aymara & Quechua.

• Earthquakes are common due to the geological instability of the Andes Mountains.

• Peru has great ecological diversity including coastal deserts, Andean highlands, and the Amazon rain forest.

• More than 120 species of hummingbirds have been discovered in Peru.

• Some areas in Peru are closed to visitors to protect the flora, fauna, and the people living in them.  Some of these people have had little contact with outsiders.

• Peru borders Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile and is located on the Pacific Ocean.

• In 1532 the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizzaro, captured the Inca emperor and declared Peru part of the Spanish empire.

• The most famous Inca ruin, Machu Picchu is located outside of the town of Cuzco and is over 8,000 feet in elevation .

• In the coastal desert of Nazca, there are drawings in the sand that are 1500-2000 years old and they are so large you can only see them from a plane.