A WALK THROUGH HISTORY

Peru is a country whose history dates back to ancient civilizations that developed more than ten thousand years ago in the high Andean mountains.

Caral, considered the oldest civilization in the Americas, marked the beginning of cultural development in what is now Peru. They built terraced adobe temples, circular plazas, and small villages around centers of worship and administration. Other notable cultures from this era include Sechín, on the coast of Áncash, and the Temple of the Crossed Hands at Kotosh, in Huánuco.

A millennium later, Chavín emerged in the north-central Andes, in the department of Áncash.

Around 700 B.C., the Paracas culture appeared on the central coast, known for their skills in intricate weaving and unique funeral rituals.

Throughout the first centuries of our era, various lordships emerged across the territory, including the Moche, who dominated the northern coast of Peru.

Following this phase of development, the regional Wari empire began around 550 A.D., laying the groundwork for what would later become the Inca Empire.

With the disappearance of the Wari around 1200 A.D., the Late Intermediate Period began, a time of regional development that included the Chimú, known for building the impressive city of Chan Chan.

This was also the time of the Chachapoyas, the “cloud people,” who inhabited the cloud forests of Amazonas and built astonishing cities and mausoleums on cliffs.