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Peru

Why Do Hundreds of Macaws Gather at These Peruvian Clay Banks?

Brightly colored parrots of the western Amazon basin display a behavior not seen anywhere else

Taken by ship to North America and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, the tiny fruit gave rise to all the many tomato varieties enjoyed today.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

Why Is This Wild, Pea-Sized Tomato So Important?

Native to northern Peru and southern Ecuador, this tiny and rapidly vanishing tomato boasts outsized influence on world gastronomy

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Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: The Inca Road

Travel through Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile in the footsteps of the Incas and experience their influence on the history and culture of the region

Hiram Bingham called Machu Picchu “the most important ruin discovered in South America since the Spanish conquest.”

What It’s Like to Travel the Inca Road Today

A rocky rollicking journey to Machu Picchu along one of the greatest engineering feats in the Americas

Monky’s street posters have become synonymous with the syncopated, high energy beat of a music genre, called Chicha.

When the Poster Promoting the Concert Is as Exciting as the Music, You Know You’re Listening to Chicha

The sounds, graphic art and the mestizo lifestyle that goes with the music is the latest revolt of the Peruvian masses

Katya and Blanca Canto pose with their carved gourds at their home in Cochas Grande.

A Look Behind the Peruvian Art of Gourd Carving

With magnificent hand carvings, artisans craft stories of celebration and tragedy into dried gourds—a tradition practiced for more than 4,000 years

As the price of their wool rises, vicuñas, like the one picture here near the ALMA telescope in Chile, faces threats from poaching gangs.

Poachers Are Killing Andean Camels for Their Wool

To meet a growing demand for vicuña wool in Europe and Asia, gangs are massacring herds of the animals in South America

Q'eswachaka suspension bridge. Q'eswachaka, Apurímac River, Canas Province, Cusco, Peru.

Urban Explorations

A Dozen Indigenous Craftsman From Peru Will Weave Grass into a 60-Foot Suspension Bridge in Washington, D.C.

The ancient technology used lightweight materials to create soaring 150-foot spans that could hold the weight of a marching army

A 2013 satellite view of a settlement of uncontacted people in Acre, Brazil.

Protecting the World’s Last Isolated Communities From Above

Advances in satellite technology mean that untouched villages can remain that way

This pyramid in Lima, Peru was built by the Wari civilization, who pre-dated the Incas. Now Lima is proposing using another Wari innovation, a series of waterways called 'amunas,' to stem the city's ongoing water crisis.

Cool Finds

Ancient Tech Could Help Solve Lima’s Water Crisis

Turns out Peru’s Wari people were excellent urban planners…and their 1,500-year-old ‘amunas’ could soon bring water to Lima

Edward Ranney, Viscas River Valley, 2001.

Stunning Black-and-White Photos of the Nazca Lines

Edward Ranney’s photographs of the famous Nazca Lines show the mysterious geoglyphs from an unusual angle—eye-level

Village clearings deep in the Peruvian Amazon, as spotted by a satellite.

New Research

Should We Use Satellites to Keep an Eye on Remote Amazonian Tribes?

Satellite monitoring could help keep tabs on indigenous people without invasive visits to their remote homes

Nevado Coropuna, a volcano visible from the recently discovered Stone Age site in the Andes

New Research

Stone Age Shelter in Peru is the Oldest, Highest Human Settlement

Researchers found campfires and rock art at nearly 14,700 feet, suggesting ancient people lived high just 2,000 years after they reached South America

New Research

The Mystery of This 500-Year Old Mummy Is Only Beginning To Be Solved

For more than a century, no one in Germany knew where this mummy came from

A 900 year-old skull from Peru, whose former owner underwent brain surgery.

1,000 Years Ago, Patients Survived Brain Surgery, But They Had To Live With Huge Holes in Their Heads

The practice finally came to an end when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century and decided to make it illegal

Villagers construct a new bridge over the Apurimac River, in Huinchiri, Peru, in 2012.

The Earliest and Greatest Engineers Were the Incas

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough treks to Peru to see how Machu Picchu was built

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What to Eat—or Not—in Peru

The ceviche carts and meat grills are colorful pieces of scenery, but eating a cherimoya or a sweet and starchy lucuma could be the truest taste of Peru

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