5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT PERU

To talk about Peru we have to talk about its past and the different cultural fusions that it has suffered for centuries. Peru is more than ruins or the myths around them, it is a tradition that passes from parents to children, it is the union of different cultures expressed in music, dances and food.

Peru is a wonderful country with a very rich history and lovely people. Talking about all the reasons that exist to visit this beautiful country I would never finish writing, that is why we are going to focus on 05 of the most important reasons for us why Peru should be on your list of trips that you should do at least once in your life.

To talk about Peru we have to talk about its past and the different cultural fusions that it has suffered for centuries. Peru is more than ruins or the myths around them, it is a tradition that passes from parents to children, it is the union of different cultures expressed in music, dances and food.

These are 05 of the reasons why you should visit Peru:

1.- A journey to relive history
A very rich history that dates from the first civilizations such as La Caral, considered the oldest in America (more than 5 thousand years ago), passing through the great Inca empire that achieved a great territorial extension through Peru, Ecuador, western Bolivia, northern Argentina, northern Chile and the extreme south-western part of Colombia. Another important part of our history was the Spanish invasion, since with it it brought the fusion of cultures, languages and races, this time ends with the beginning of our republican history where we were polishing our norms and customs, in addition to continuing with the fusion of the different cultures of immigrants who came to our country with local people. There is no city in this beautiful country that has not contributed a grain of sand to our history. I think that later on we will make a blog to indicate the most important destinations that you must visit to understand our history and relive each step taken by our people.

2.- The fusion of cultures gave birth to the most varied and delicious gastronomy
Peru is a country with a great gastronomy, closely linked to its history, the fusion of cultures, the creativity of people to appease hunger and the sensitivity of others to mix the culinary arts of their country of origin with the products that they grow in our fertile land. We can talk about one of our best known dishes, ceviche, a dish so simple to prepare, with few ingredients and few steps, but that our mouths water every time we have it in front of us, one of the hypotheses of its origin is that More than 2000 years ago on the Peruvian coast, the Moche culture prepared a fresh fish dish that was cooked with tumbo juice, then in Inca times it was macerated in chicha de jora and with the arrival of the Spanish it evolved to the dish that we know now with lemon and onion. Another clear example of the fusion of cultures is the Lomo Saltado, according to chef Gastón Acurio, the lomo saltado is an Inca, Asian and European fusion indicating that “It has the Asian technique of the frying pan and the sauté in cooking, giving rise to what we now know as lomo saltado, accompanied by potato on a separate plate, in the 1940s. Five decades later, the potato was incorporated in a single presentation”.

Once an American passenger with a lot of tourist travel experience around the world made us the following analogy: everyone’s food has the same bases, it is like a pizza, the dough is the same made by anyone, the difference is in the ingredients that you use for the sauce and other fillings, and the quality of the Peruvian ingredients is unique and unmatched.

3.- The steps of our dances tell our story.
In Peru there are many types of dance, which, although they have their origin within the Peruvian territory, are influenced by instruments and dances that come from mergers with European, African and American cultures. We have, for example, the huayno, which has Inca origin and is considered the Andean dance par excellence, a dance that has changed due to influences after the empire and that varies according to religion. On the coast we have the sailor who has Spanish influence, indigenous and African rhythms, it is a very beautiful dance with a contagious rhythm. And let’s not forget Afro-Peruvian music, which was developed by the populations of Africa that inhabited Peru and that were mixed with Spanish music of that time, had great influence on many Peruvian genres such as marinera, festejo, landau, tondero , zamacueca and many more. The guitar is used with the influence of flamenco sounds and as percussion the Peruvian cajon stands out. Let’s not forget the music of our jungle, characterized mostly by being war dances or local rituals, they are not always happy rhythms, many of their dances have a religious or ceremonial connotation such as that of ayahuasca, inspired by work of the healers or shamans of the Amazon.

4.- Our representative liquor: El Pisco
This is another great reason to visit our beautiful country, our Pisco is one of the most sought after in the world, on their own quality of this liquor, flavor and aroma make it one of the most demanded by the most discerning palates, origin comes from the city of Pisco which gets its name during the Inca period when several groups of birds were observed, which was called pishqus (which was how they knew those birds). The production of grape liquor would have started around the 16th century and as time went by it became known as Pisco liquor until it reached its current name of Pisco. Historical records mention it even comparing it to Spanish sherry, but when pisco was made with small grapes, it gave it a unique and wonderful flavor.

5.- Unique destinations
Last but not least, we have the different tourist destinations found in Peru, starting with our wonder of the world, Machu Picchu, located in what was the most important city of the Inca empire, but we not only have that, we have a Floating island made of reeds and that has a population that lives and works there, the island of the Uros in Lake Titicaca in Puno, in the department of Amazonas we have Kuelap, being the largest stone structure in South America and not to mention our jungle, where you will find a great variety of unique fauna and flora, which is part of an ecosystem protected by the residents, lodges and tourism agencies that operate there and know the importance of maintaining a balance so that we as tourists can enjoy many years of natural wonders that only the jungle can offer us.

It has been very difficult to try not to elaborate on each point, because there are plenty of reasons to visit Peru, and as Peruvians we cannot miss the opportunity to know what is ours, and if you are not from Peru you will always be welcome to know a little about us, remember that you will always have something new to know and we will wait for you with open arms.

Peruvian Shades