Insects deserve special mention. On one single tree in the Tambopata jungle in Peru's southeast, scientists identified over 5,000 different species, including more ant species than can be found in all the British isles.

Peru's complex and irregular geography, divided lengthwise from north to south by the Andes, is undoubtedly the main reason for the astonishing diversity of this extraordinarily beautiful land. The mountains, split into endless intervalleys, have produced a unique climate that makes Peru a region riddled with remarkable contrasts: arid deserts and exuberant jungles; glaciers and savannas, flower-filled valleys and white sandy beaches.

Thanks to its natural and biogenetic wealth and diversity, throughout its history Peru has helped to improve mankind's living standards.

Its contributions, to mention only a few of the most important ones, cover fields as diverse as pharmaceutics (from quinine to fight malaria at the turn of the century, to 'cat's claw' to treat modern immunological deficiency); medicine (with effective wound healers, tonics, antibiotics and cancer drugs); textiles (with Tangüis, the world's best quality cotton); and food (with potatoes, tomatoes or hot chili peppers, and endless Andean crops of high nutritional value -like maca and amaranth- used as a food supplement for astronauts).

Some of Peru's natural areas have gained world-wide recognition, like Paracas, where huge flocks of migratory birds, sea-lion colonies, Humboldt penguins, adapted to areas beyond the Antarctic, and an astonishing variety of fish share the coast with ruins dating back to the pre-Hispanic cultures that evolved between the desert and the sea. Or like Lachay, an unexpected green oasis, in the middle of the sands, that blossoms, once a year, under a blanket of fog.

On the high Andean plateau, at over 4,000 masl (more than 12,000 ft.) vicuñas roam the Pampa Galeras, ever-watchful of the puma or Andean cougar lurking nearby. And in Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable body of water on the planet, rafts made of totora reeds sail the cold waters that are home to the Uros.

The Andes are also home to the highest tropical peaks in the world and in particular the Huascarán snow-capped mountain, a paradise of eternal snows and crystal-clear streams, condors and deer; of emerald-green lakes, queñual trees and an incredibly blue sky, that every year lures thousands of visitors.

Cloud forests that skirt the Andes' eastern slopes, cover the testimony of long-last ancient cultures that have yet to be discovered.

Hidden in the magical Amazon rain forest are the Manu and Pacaya-Samiria territories, true natural paradises, home to macaws and hidden waterfalls.

There, in the enormity of the planet's most pristine region, time seems to have stopped and rivers meander unhurried bringing sustenance to huge trees and the most delicate of orchids.

There, jaguars, eagles, caimans and anacondas share the forest with indigenous tribes who know it better than anyone. Come visit timeless, magical Peru, mankind's reserve of biodiversity.