Interesting facts about Peru that makes it a unique country:
Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake at 3856 meters (12,725 ft) above sea Level and the awesome Cordillera Blanca is about 180 km (112 miles) long and 20 km (12 miles) wide. In this fairly small area, there are more than 50 peaks of 5700 meters (18,696 ft) or higher.
In contrast, North America has only three mountains in excess of 5700 meters: Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, Logan in Canada, Denali in Alaska and Europe has none. Only in Asia can you find mountain ranges higher that the Andes. Huascaran, at 6,768 meters (22,199 ft), not only is Peru’s highest mountain, but also the highest peak in the tropics anywhere in the world.
The Amazon river, the world’s mightiest, originates in Peru and its namesake rainforest makes up much of the country. Another wonder of Peru is the Colca’s canyon, the globe’s deepest and twice as deep as the Grand canyon of the United States. Caral, located north of Lima, has the privilege of being the oldest city of the Western hemisphere. It has been proven with carbon 14 dating that this settment was inhabited 2900 years B.C.
Thirteen percent of the Amazon tropical forests are in Peru, and Peru ranks 8th in the world for total forest area. Peru is one of only 12 countries in the world that rank as biological megadiversity. There are almost 25,000 species of plants (10% of the world total), of which 30% are only found in Peru. In wildlife, it ranks top in diversity of fish (2,000 species, equal to 10% of the world's species), first in birds (1,816 species, including the condor). Peru is also home to about 10% of all mammals and reptiles living on the planet and more than 20% of the earth’s birds. The late Theodore Parker III, famous American field ornithologist once said “Peru offers bird enthusiasts more than any other country in the world…Being here is like being a child visiting a huge store filled with new and fascinating toys.
Peru ranks third in amphibians (379 species, including the black crocodile), third in mammals (462 species, including the ocelot and black spectacled bear), and first in butterflies. It ranks second in the world for its variety of primates 35 species, including the unique woolly, yellow-tailed monkey.In Peru, the Orchidaceae family features some 3,000 species, most of which grow in the tropical jungle on the eastern slopes of the Andes: the cloud forest region. There, amidst the exuberant vegetation produced by nearly 5,000 mm of rainfall a year, orchids multiply, forming veritable natural gardens.
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Peru has the highest railroad in the world
The Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world. The paiche, inhabiting the amazon jungle, is the largest fresh water fish in the world. The capibara (ronsoco) is the biggest rodent in the world. The Puya Raymondi is the tallest flower spike in the world. The world’s largest black marlin, weighing 1560 pounds, according to the Guiness book, was caught off Cabo Blanco, in the northern coast of Peru. The world's longest waves are in Chicama, north of Trujillo, obviously very popular with surfers around the world.
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