Weather

Dry season in the sierra is June through August. These three months are the busiest "tourist months" of the year. Unfortunatelly they are also the best months to trek the cordilleras (Cordillera de los Andes), due to the blue skies and spectacular views of the white peaks. The peaks have more snow during the rest of the year but you may not be able to see them for more than ten minutes at a time, and by sections of cloud openings.

In the altitude, on a sunny day you will be hot if exposed to the sun and cold in the shade. Bring a synthetic fleece jacket along with a heavier overcoat, down or synthetic fiber, for the colder weather in the morning and evenings. Expect cool to freezing temperatures at night. Always bring rain gear to the sierra.

Lima weather, in the other hand, is humid and has mild temperatures yearound. Skies in the peruvian coast are usually covered with a thick layer of fog between April and December.

Peru is in the west coast of South America, west of Brazil, north of Chile and south of Ecuador. This satellite photo , or actually a Global Montage, made by the University of Wisconsin Space Science and Engineering Center, is updated every six hours. Notice the cold water (dark blue) current flowing from the East towards the coast of Ecuador and northern Peru. Then, the Humboldt current flows south through the coast of Peru and Northern Chile, and finally turns west again towards Australia. The color coded temperature distribution shows darker blue as being cooler than the lighter blue. This cold current is the reason why the coast of Peru is a sandy dessert and not a tropical coast. Notice the light blue color of the western coast of Mexico or the coast of Brazil.

For more information about how this photo montage is put together click here.