Peru is located on the central part of western South America and is hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean. Home to more than 24 million inhabitants, the country covers a surface of 1,285,215 km2 (about the combined size of Spain, France and Italy) making it one of the 20 largest countries on Earth. Also because of their geographical location, Peru’s coasts have traditionally served as a vital point in maritime and trade routes on the subcontinent. Moreover, Peru has sovereign rights over 200 miles off its coasts, and territorial rights over 60 million hectares in Antarctica.
The Coastline
Due to
the presence of the cold Humboldt Current and the fact the coast is limited to the east by
the Andes, the Coastline is a long barren desert where there is almost no rain. Winter
runs from April to October in the central and south coastal regions while summer lasts
from November to March. In winter, skies are heavily overcast and a light drizzle, called
garúa, is frequent. Despite an intense chill factor caused by high humidity, temperatures
rarely fall below 12º C. In Summer, however, the sun shines brightly, making temperatures
frequently rise to 30º C. The north coast is not affected by cold water currents, which
is why the area is blessed with almost 300 warm, sunny days a year with temperatures that
can reach 35º C in summer. The El Niño weather phenomenon considerably increases
rainfall in this region from November to March.
The Andes
Two
distinct seasons can be found in the Andes. One is a rainless winter that runs from April
to October when days are sunny and nights cold with frequent frosts, thus making it the
perfect time for a visit. Heavy rains (generally more than 1,000 mm or about 40 inches),
fall in the rainy season -erroneously known as "winter"- that lasts from
November to March. The Andean climate features radical temperature changes over the same
24-hour period from 24º C in the day to as low as 3º C at night. The mountain climate is
dry and favors a wide variety of crops.
The Jungle
Split into the high jungle
(above 700 masl) and low jungle (below 700 masl). The subtropical, mild climate of the
high jungle features rainfall (approximately 3,000 mm or 120 inches a year) from November
to March and sunny days from April to October. Nights are always cool. In the lower jungle
or Amazon plain, two well-marked seasons are directly related to distance to the Equator.
In the dry, travel season running from April to October, days are often sunny and
temperatures climb above 35º C. River flow drops and roads are usually open to traffic.
From November to March, showers are frequent -at least once a day- and road travel
difficult. Humidity is extremely high throughout the year. From May to August, an
occasional frost originating in cold fronts, called friajes or surazos, blowing north from
the southern tip of the subcontinent may hit the southern jungle and make temperatures
fall to between 8 and 12º C.