Photography by Kostya Nakazny

Peru is most famous for its Inca civilization and the archaeological Machu Picchu site in the Sacred Valley. However, you will NOT find iconic images of that site nor any other famous places such as Saqsawaman, Lake Titicaca, and other here. This gallery has a collection of photos from several areas of this amazing country. It starts off in the city of Juliaca while it was the center of antigovernment protests in the province of Puno (the protests were nationwide). After Juliaca, you will see images from Moquegua, Cerro Baul, Puno, Chucuito, and Lima.

The title does not imply that no tourist has ever gone to the areas where these photographs were taken. In fact, I know for certain that tourists visited those areas, simply because I was one. :) However, I lived in Peru with families for a total of about 10 months so far and was taken to houses of people’s extended families. As you can imagine, the entire population of Peru does not live by historic and archeological sights trying to sell a souvenir. Many traditions that you might have heard about on your visits to Nazca, Lake Titicaca, or Machu Picchu are not about distant, pre-Colombian cultures lost in the past; those stories are about the people just around the corner. The first three photos were taken in indigenous communities where Kechua (Quechua) is spoken exclusively. The last four photos were taken where Aymara is the primary language of communication.

I took these photographs towards the end of my second visit to Peru. As I walked the streets of Lima, I was surrounded by combination of colors that all the buildings were painted in. I kept getting these flashbacks that I have seen something similar in the past. At some point I realized that, if isolated, parts of the buildings could easily pass for a Piet Mondrian’s painting. With my trusty Nikon FM10, I set out to prove that my imagination and vision were not deceiving me. You can be the judge if I succeeded.