About Peru
HERITAGES PLACES IN PERU
Perú: World Heritage
Heritages Places in Peru: Useful Informatin of Peru about
places named heritages, such as Cuzco City, National Park of
Manu, Machupicchu, Huscaran National Park etc.
THE CITY OF CUZCO.
Declared a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1983.
Cuzco, which in the ancient Quechua language means "navel of the
world", was an important hub in Inca times that connected all of
South America, from Colombia to the north of Argentina. Today,
centuries later, Cuzco continues to be the centre of attention,
not only for our neighbouring countries but for the whole world.
In its streets, historical centres, churches, pubs and cafés you
can hear not only Quechua and Spanish spoken, but such diverse
languages as English, French, Japanese and Hebrew. All of them,
united by the same experience, found in the charming and
fascinating "belly button" of the world.
MACHUPICCHU,
Was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site also in
1983.
I could say a great deal about this archaeological site, which
was hidden for centuries until it came to light in the early
1900s, but it is difficult to describe in words what one feels
when the citadel suddenly appears, like a challenge to the
imagination and to engineering, between the mountains that mark
the beginning and the end of the Andes and the Amazon Basin.
The temple or fortress of Chavin de Huantar, declared a World
Cultural Heritage in 1985.
I could tell you of the gusts of air that brush your face almost
like a sigh when you walk through its sophisticated underground
galleries. Known as the "castle", Chavin and its intricate
passageways is believed to be one of the oldest constructions in
the Americas.
THE HUASCARAN NATIONAL PARK.
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1985.
Here I can tell you about the turquoise colour of its lakes that
contrast with the snow-capped peaks of the highest tropical
mountain range in the world. The Huascaran National Park is a
paradise and a challenge to nature and adventure sports lovers
alike. It has over 600 glaciers, close to 300 lakes, and 27 snow-capped
peaks that reach heights of over 6,000 metres, such as the
Huascaran which rises to 6,768 meters above sea level.
CHAN CHAN
is another of the 10 sites inscribed as World Cultural
Heritages by UNESCO, this in 1986.Known as the largest city of
clay in pre-Columbian America, Chan Chan is texture, it is form,
it is desert sand made into art. The birds that decorate the
walls of Chan Chan seem almost to fly in the strong breeze that
blows through this ancient Chimu site.
THE MANU NATIONAL PARK
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1987, Manu is the
feast of life and diversity, with more than 1,000 species of
birds, 1,200 types of butterflies, over 20,000 varieties of
plants and an unknown quantity of reptiles, insects and
amphibians.
LIMA´S HISTORICAL CENTRE
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 1991.
Lima is a sum of colours, textures and sounds. It is a
cosmopolitan capital par excellence where the taste is acquired
from the flavour offered by its street-side cooks frying
anticuchos or soft picarones in syrup against a backdrop of
colonial balconies, old houses, and churches with secret tunnels.
THE RIO ABISEO NATIONAL PARK
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1990.
Becausse geographical location and the fragility of the
archaeological sites within the park, Rio Abiseo remains closed
to tourism since 1996. Today Peruvian and foreign scientists
travel through the park to continue studying the flora and fauna
and the
remains of pre-Inca cultures.
THE NAZCA LINES
And the Pampas de Juma were declared a World Heritage site
in 1994.
Close to the other natural jewel that is the Paracas National
Reserve, these lines and figures of different animals, drawn on
the Peruvian desert and seen properly only from the sky, were
considered a mystery for decades because it was not known if
they were a calendar or a form of communication with outer space.
AREQUIPA´S HISTORICAL CENTRE
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 2000.
The city of Arequipa is, precisely, an example of how culture in
Peru is constantly abrew. Arequipa, known as the White City
because of the volcanic rock, or "sillar", with which its
churches and homes are built. Arequipa is the land of passions
and contrasts, of the hot rocoto pepper and the magnificent
condor which can only be seen flying over the Colca Canyon, one
of the deepest in the world.
