For a long time specialists divided Peru in just three large natural regions, namely the coast, the mountains and the jungle. Although this simple classification reflects a preliminary general appearance of Peru's geography, reality is considerably more complex.

Special conditions such as the presence of high massifs, winds that blow from far regions or the proximity of large bodies of water, made nature adopt peculiar characteristics turning some of the country's regions into unique and well-differentiated habitats that require further investigation.

Antonio Brack, a biogeography specialist, has identified 11 ecoregions in Peru, ranging from the ocean zones to mountains and tropical jungles, going through deserts and valleys, swamplands and high forests. Seen individually, some of these zones may be considered as lacking great diversity but altogether they are a true wonder of nature. The abundance found in Peru's nature is based on the amazing diversity of its environments and living creatures.

Warm water flora and fauna are different from the animals and plants that dwell in cold seas. Mangroves, one of the world's most beautiful ecosystems, are made possible thanks to the proximity of the tropical sea.

Created by the mix of fresh, silt-loaded river water, and the sea's salt water, mangroves grow on the very shores of the ocean to form a tight jungle teeming with life that shelters hundreds of animal and plant species, some extremely rare such as the mangrove raccoon and the American alligator.

Usual dwellers of this zone are magnificent frigate birds, the blue-footed booby known as camanay, tropical birds, several types of tortoises and even a type of marine snake. Fish are plentiful and varied, ranging from sharks and tuna to large conger eels, groupers and marlins.

Mollusks and crustaceans deserve a special mention: dozens of varieties of sea-shells, clams and crabs, besides lobsters and shrimp that can only survive in warm waters are found here.

Together with these large sea animals lives a legion of sea birds (including guano birds) and over 300 varieties of fish, especially anchovies and sardines that have given rise to one of Peru's most important industries.

Deserts are mostly flat lands of vast pampas, dunes and hills that rarely run over 700 meters of altitude. Animal and plant life in this area is scarce. However, the monotonous sand and rock pampas are regularly split by the fertile valleys of the coastal strip. A total of 52 rivers cross the Pacific desert and pour into the ocean, fostering life to the lands they flow through. There, plant life is represented by the carob tree, huarangos, cacti, and tillandsias. Typical animals include the gray coastal fox, the guanaco (one of two varieties of wild South American camelids living in Peru), and several dozen varieties of birds. Coastal rivers are lavish in shrimp and a wide variety of fishes.

A generally flat relief of vast plains and low rolling hills on the coastal seaboard rises to form small mountain chains in the interior.

This is the land of potbellied ceibos that store water in their thick trunks, and of hard, fine wood trees like hualtaco and guayacan.

It is the land of white-tailed deer, coastal foxes, white-winged guans, tamandua ant-eaters, and white-neck squirrels who share the dry forest with huge flocks of Pacific parrakeets and red-fronted parrots.

Many of its inhabitants come from other natural regions such as the jaguar, sloths and red brocket that come from the Amazon, or the coastal fox and white-tailed deer which also dwel in the dry Equatorial desert.

Other species, however are native to this peculiar environment and cannot be found anywhere else in Peru, such as the coto or howler monkey typical of Tumbes, the northeastern otter, the bronze-winged parrot and many others. The area also features numerous orchids and huge ceibo trees, bearded trees that are festooned with long strips of salvajina vines.

But above all, the puna is a land of extremes, a place where the ruthless climate and lack of oxygen have hampered the evolution of life. A place where only a handful of species, adapted to the intense cold, can survive on the scarce resources provided by their environment, principally the kolle and queñual trees that thrive in the world's highest forests; the marshes and tota forests, the vast ichu grasslands and the clumps of puya Raymondi.

This is the kingdom of the majestic Andean condor and Andean flamingoes, of graceful vicuñas and powerful pumas, of playful viscachas -a rodent related to the rabbit- and the beautiful taruca, the largest deer in the Andes.

Also living in this area are the rare hairy tapir or pinchaque, several species of bats, the spectacled bear or ucumari, the steppe deer, and a small kind of shrew that only recently has been identified by science, and which is Peru's only insect-eating mammal.

The abrupt and complex relief of narrow valleys and deep gullies is covered by impenetrable forests. Mist-shrouded forests are found in the region's upper reaches, generally enveloped by haze and drizzle, while the lower foothills create the lowland jungle.

Yunga vegetation is the most exuberant in the tropics and features orchids, giant begonias and ferns. The region is also home to the Andean cock of the rocks, Peru's national bird, the spectacled bear -the only South American bear species-, the yellow-tailed wolly monkey (thought to be extinct until not very long ago), quetzals, torrent ducks, more than twenty varieties of hummingbirds, and several dozen species of fruit-birds.

The region's flora comprises more than 20,000 plant species ranging from fine wood trees and useful fruits to medicinal species. Wild animal life is amazingly rich and varied.

The region's inhabitants include the spider and howler monkeys; felines like the ocelot, puma and jaguar; the sachavaca or tapir, and the world's largest rodent, the ronsoco or capybara.

Its waters teem with large fishes like the paiche and the giant catfish, two kinds of river dolphins and several types of terrapins or river tortoises.

Home to more than a thousand varieties of birds, the low jungle shelters the harpy eagle and a myriad minuscule hummingbirds; as well as huge reptiles like the black cayman and the anaconda all the way down to frogs, spiders and insects, many of which have yet to be identified.

Many of the plants and animals that thrive in this region are unique and have especially adapted themselves to survive in the vast grasslands.

They include the marsh deer, Peru's largest, the rare, manned-wolf that resembles a long-legged canine, the yellow-billed toucan (also Peru's biggest), and the elusive white woodpecker. Tapirs, jaguars, giant anteaters, and colorful macaws all share this life zone.