Peru like its neighbour, ecuador, is divided into three natural zones which have become cultural frontiers. The arid coastline, fertile only in oases of irrigation, washed by the cool Peru current, is largely mestizo with the small minority of Europeans concentrated on the capital Lima. Here has developed Peruvian criollo (creole) cooking. The Andes, home of the Incas, remain predominantly Indian, the language Quechua spoken more often than Spanish. Beyond, is the montaña (jungle), thinly populated, its borders disputed with Ecuador, its wealth on the increase with the discovery of oil.
