The land of gold and of the sun-worshipping Incas, Peru was sixteenth-century Europe's major source of treasure, and once the home of the largest empire in the world. While the riches of the Incas have since fuelled the European imagination, the country's real appeal lies in the sheer beauty of its various landscapes, the abundance of its wildlife, and the strong and colourful character of the people – newly recovered after a period of political upheaval, from the 1980s until the early 1990s, that was as bloody and unpredictable as any during the country's history.

Peru is the most varied and exciting of all the South American nations. Most people visualize the country as mountainous, and are aware of the great Inca relics, but many are unaware of the splendour of the immense desert coastline and the vast tracts of tropical rainforest. Dividing these contrasting environments, chain after chain of breathtaking peaks, the Andes, over seven thousand metres high and four hundred kilometres wide in places, ripple the entire length of the nation. So distinct are these three regions that it is very difficult to generalize about the country, but one thing for sure is that Peru offers a unique opportunity to experience an incredibly wide range of spectacular scenery, a wealth of heritage, and a vibrant living culture.

In the more rural parts of Peru, native life can have changed little in the last four centuries. However, "progress" is gradually transforming much of Peru – already the cities wear a distinctly Western aspect, and roads and tracks now connect almost every corner of the Republic with the industrial urbanizaciones that dominate the few fertile valleys along the coast. Only the Amazon jungle – nearly two-thirds of Peru's landmass but with a mere fraction of its population – remains beyond modernization's reach, and even here oil and lumber companies, cattle ranchers, cocaine producers and settlers, are taking an increasing toll.

Always an exciting place to visit, and frantic as it sometimes appears on the surface, the laid-back calmness of the Peruvian temperament continues to underpin life even in the cities.