The country of Peru is located in the western part of South America. As the third largest country in South America, it has many different landscapes and climates that span the country from coastline, mountains, and dense forest. It borders many countries to include Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and Ecuador with its western border consisting of the Pacific Ocean. The origins, people, legends of hidden cities, diverse landscape, and government make Peru one of the most fascinating countries in South America.
Peru has an ancient past and is known as the homeland for Andean cultures and civilizations such as the Incas. The Incan empire is a centuries old civilization that was conquered by the Spanish in 1533. Prior …show more content…
The Spanish never found Vilcabamba which was used by the Incans to defend against the Spanish until the late 16th century. The legend of Vilcabamba intrigued an American explorer and Yale faculty member named Hiram Bingham III to search for its existence. Through the assistance of a Quechua speaking local, Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911 which he believed to be the lost city of Vilcabamba. Bingham maintained his belief that Machu Picchu and Vilcabamba were one in the same through the remainder of his life. In 1964 another American explorer named Gene Savoy made the trip to Peru in search of Vilcabamba. He continued the work of Bingham on another of Bingham’s finds known as Epiritu Pampa. Savoy was able to excavate more than Bingham was and determined that Espiritu Pampa was actually larger than Machu Picchu with many more houses and buildings. Savoy also found what is widely accepted as Vilcabamba located fifty miles from the site of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu remains one of the most notable and mysterious of these ancient cities. Still to this day the remains of Machu Picchu are visited by numerous tourists every year. Although Machu Picchu sits on a fault line, the walls of the buildings are mostly intact. The walls of the structures are made of stone without mortar. Some say that the bricks dance with the earthquakes which …show more content…
During the time since they have fought for and achieved numerous milestones as a nation. The achieved independence from Spain even in the face of near total extinction. Fought disease and starvation brought on by the Spaniards. They are now the third largest producer of silver and the third largest of copper in the world. Much of the population enjoys employment, a high birth rate, and a low death rate. A democratic government is in place that is statistically making the country a better place for its citizens. With the way the Incan Empire moved their capital in order to battle the Spanish, the people, legends of hidden cities, government, and the diverse landscape that makes up the country, Peru is one of the most fascinating countries in South