The Republic of Peru is a sovereign state located in western South America, bordered by Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is a megadiverse country with a geography that transitions from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains and the tropical Amazon Basin. Politically, Peru is a unitary presidential representative republic. The President serves as both head of state and head of government, elected for a five-year term without the possibility of immediate reelection. The legislative branch consists of a unicameral Congress. Peru’s modern borders and administrative structure of 24 departments and one constitutional province (Callao) were largely defined following its independence from Spain in 1821 and the subsequent 19th-century territorial conflicts.

The Inca Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and its administrative, political, and military center was located in Cusco. At its height in the early 16th century, the empire stretched from modern-day Colombia to Argentina and Chile, linked by an extensive road network known as the Qhapaq Ñan. The Incas were masters of monumental stone architecture and terrace farming, allowing them to sustain a massive population in the challenging Andean terrain. Despite lacking a written alphabet, they managed a complex state through the use of "quipus" - knotted string devices used for record-keeping and accounting. The empire fell to Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s, but Incan culture remains a foundational element of Peruvian national identity.

Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located on a mountain ridge 2,430 meters above sea level in the Cusco Region. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas," it was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. The site is world-renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, and its astronomical alignments. Abandoned at the time of the Spanish Conquest, it remained unknown to the outside world until it was brought to international attention by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, serving as a primary symbol of Peru's pre-Hispanic architectural genius and a major driver of the national tourism industry.