| Country |
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| Area |
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Peru is 1285215km2 in area.It is the third biggest country in South America.
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| Population |
| 25,662,000 of inhabitants (Urban: 72.3% Rural: 27.7%) |
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| Races |
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Peru is a multi-racial country. About 500 years ago, Spanish came here
and had intermarriage with the aboriginal races. Later, African, Asian
and European migrated here to have intermarriage with them. Present Peruvian
consists of all of them ethnic people. Multiracialism is the main characteristic
of Peru.
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| Languages Spoken |
| Spanish: 80.3% Quechua: 16.2% Other: 3.0% Foreign Language: 0.2% |
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Spanish and Quechua are Official Languages. Spanish language is essential
for living in Peru, while Quechua language is the great heritage of the
Ancient Inca and is spoken in many regions till these days. There is also
the Aymara language spoken at Lake Titicaca area and many other languages
spoken at the Amazon area.
Most of the working staffs in tourist industry like airlines, hotels, restaurant
etc. may be able to speak certain amount of English. |
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| Currency |
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The currency in Peru is "Nuevo Sol" (S/.) ("Nuevos Soles" : the plural) and "Centimo" ("Centimos" : the plural) as the lower unit. 100 Centimo is equal to 1 Nuevo Sol.
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| There are 1,5,10, 20, 50 Centimo coins and 1, 2, 5 Nuevo/s Sole/s coins. 1 Centimo coins and 5 Centimos coins are recently circulated and still not so popular. About notes, there are 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 Nuevos Soles notes. |
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US dollar is also commonly used here especially in tourist places. There
is no problem for using US dollars. However only the bills are acceptable.
When you pay in US dollar bills, the balance of change will be given in
local currency. Since most of the small shops may not have change for big
notes like 100 US dollar bill, it would be more convenience for you to
bring along smaller bills of US dollars during your travel to Peru.
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| Currency Exchange |
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Currency exchange service is available at "Casa de Cambio" (Money
Changer). You also can exchange currency in the hotels. However, many of
the 3 stars or lower classes of hotels may not provide this service. Sometimes,
there are Money Changers called "Cambista" stay around the bank
giving better rate than the bank rate. However, it's not advisable
to deal with these “cambista:” as there is a risk of getting counterfeit
bills.
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| There are very few places to exchange other currencies and traveler cheques.
Though you may manage to exchange them, you will get very poor rate. |
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| Most of restaurants and shops in tourist places accept credit cards (Mainly
VISA, MASTER CARD, DINERS and AMERICAN EXPRESS). There are also ATM machines in towns and airports. So, we recommend
tourists to bring both US dollar cash and credit cards. |
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| Religion |
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Catholics: 89%, Protestants: 7%, Others: 6%
Peru practices Freedom of Religions. Ardent Catholic brought in by Spanish
and local mystic religions are mixed in Peru. Many religious festivals
and ceremonies are held annually.
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| Electrical Power |
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Electrical Voltage is 220V. Most of 4 stars and 5 stars hotels provide
220V and 110V. The type of electrical plug has two: flat blade attachment
plug and round pin attachment plug.
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| Water |
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Pipe water is not suitable for drinking. Local people boil water or use
water filter to make the pipe water drinkable. Tourists are recommended
to buy bottled mineral water for drinking. It is available in supermarkets
and shops. Please note that some of them are carbonated and are written
as "Con Gas". For those non-carbonated (ordinary mineral water),
they are written as "Sin Gas".
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Telephone and
Internet Facility |
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Telephone communication is available at public phone and telephone services
in the hotels. Some Internet Cafes provide low-rate international telephone
service.
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| Immunization and Visa |
Those tourists planning to visit jungle areas in Peru are recommended to
get vaccination against yellow fever (i.e. to get vaccinated 10 days before
travel). Please note that tourists may be obligated to carry yellow card
in case of entering to
Citizens of countries not appearing below may not require a visa for stays
up to 90 days.
For longer stay, a student visa may be required.
Nationals from the following countries may require a visa entering Peru
for stay up to 90 days, a tourist visa is sufficient:
All African nations, with the exception of South Africa, Afghanistan, Saudi
Arabia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, India,
Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Stan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maldives,
Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Laos, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria, Sri Lanka,
People's Republic of China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Cuba,
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia,
Slovenia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova,
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and
Serbia & Montenegro. |
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