10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese public multinationalconglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquarteredin Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since1959, reaching a production of 400 million by the end of 2019. Founders: Soichiro Honda, TakeoFujisawaCustomer service: 124229091119Stock price: 7267 (TYO) JP¥4,550 -14.00 (-0.31%)24 Aug, 3:15 pm GMT+9 – DisclaimerHeadquarters: Minato City, Tokyo, JapanFounded: 24 September 1948, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, JapanHonda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand,Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda alsomanufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft, power generators, andother products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/roboticsresearch and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also ventured into aerospace withthe establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, whichbegan production in 2012. Honda has two joint-ventures in China: Dongfeng Honda andGuangqi Honda.Throughout his life, Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda (1906–1991), had aninterest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where he tunedcars and entered them in races. In 1937, with financing from his acquaintance Kato Shichirō,Honda founded Tōkai Seiki (Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company) to make piston ringsworking out of the Art Shokai garage.After attending engineering school without graduating, andvisiting factories around Japan to better understand Toyota’s quality control processes known as”Five whys”, by 1941 Honda was able to mass-produce piston rings acceptable to Toyota, usingan automated process that could employ even unskilled wartime laborers.In 1990, CEO Tadashi Kume was succeeded by Nobuhiko Kawamoto. Kawamoto was selectedover Shoichiro Irimajiri, who oversaw the successful establishment of Honda of AmericaManufacturing, Inc. in Marysville, Ohio. Irimajiri and Kawamoto shared a friendly rivalry withinHonda; owing to health issues, Irimajiri would resign in 1992.Following the death of Soichiro Honda and the departure of Irimajiri, Honda found itself quicklybeing outpaced in product development by other Japanese automakers and was caughtoff-guard by the truck and sport utility vehicle boom of the 1990s, all which took a toll on theprofitability of the company. Japanese media reported in 1992 and 1993 that Honda was atserious risk of an unwanted and hostile takeover by Mitsubishi Motors, which at the time was alarger automaker by volume and was flush with profits from its successful Pajero and Diamantemodels.Kawamoto acted quickly to change Honda’s corporate culture, rushing throughmarket-driven product development that resulted in recreational vehicles such as thefirst-generation Odyssey and the CR-V, and a refocusing away from some of the numeroussedans and coupes that were popular with the company’s engineers but not with the buyingpublic. The most shocking change to Honda came when Kawamoto ended the company’ssuccessful participation in Formula One after the 1992 season, citing costs in light of thetakeover threat from Mitsubishi as well as the desire to create a more environmentally friendlycompany image.In 2023, Honda recalled 500,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada dueto an issue with seat belts in the car not latching correctly. Among the models recalled were the2017-2020 CR-V, the 2018 and 2019 Accord, the 2018-2020 Odyssey, the 2019 Insight, and theAcura RDX from 2019 and 2020. According to the recall, the seat belts in the front seats wouldbreak open on impact increasing the risk of injury in a crash.Honda has been active inmotorsports, like Formula One, MotoGP and others. Since 2022, all of Honda’s motorsportactivites are managed by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC); prior to that time, Honda wasseparately oversaw the motorbikes racing under HRC and automobile racing under theautomobile counterpart of Honda Racing.Honda’s solar cell subsidiary company Honda Soltec(Headquarters: Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto; President and CEO: Akio Kazusa) started salesthroughout Japan of thin-film solar cells for public and industrial use on October 24, 2008, afterselling solar cells for residential use in October 2007.Honda announced in the end of October2013 that Honda Soltec would cease business operations in the Spring of 2014 except forsupport for existing customers and the subsidiary would be dissolved.Honda entered FormulaOne for the first time in 1964, just one year after starting the production of road cars, makingboth engine and chassis. Honda achieved their first victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, andanother win at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, before they withdrew after the 1968 season. Theyreturned to the sport in 1983 as an engine manufacturer, remaining until 1992. This period sawHonda dominate Grand Prix racing,as between 1986 and 1991 they won five consecutiveDrivers’ Championships with Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, and sixConstructors’ titles with Williams and McLaren.The following Super Touring era of touring carracing saw Honda win the Japanese and North American championships in 1996 and 1997,while in Europe Honda’s Super Touring cars claimed over 40 wins across the British, Germanand European series. After the collapse of the Super Touring regulations in the early 2000s,Honda remained involved in the British Touring Car Championship, where their cars would winmultiple championships in the mid-2000s and throughout the 2010s. Honda entered the WorldTouring Car Championship in late 2012, and in 2013 they won the Manufacturers’ WorldChampionship. Honda’s TCR car won the global TCR Model of the Year award in 2019 and2020.Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) was formed in 1982. The company combinesparticipation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high-potentialracing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of leading-edgetechnologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also contributes to theadvancement of motorcycle sports through a range of activities that include sales of productionracing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of international motorsport. In1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into the Isle of Man TT race, the most prestigiousmotorcycle race in the world. While always having powerful engines, it took until 1961 for Hondato tune their chassis well enough to allow Mike Hailwood to claim their first Grand Prix victoriesin the 125 and 250 cc classes. Hailwood would later pick up their first Senior TT wins in 1966and 1967. Honda’s race bikes were known for their “sleek & stylish design” and exotic engineconfigurations, such as the 5-cylinder, 22,000 rpm, 125 cc bike and their 6-cylinder 250 cc and297 cc bikes.

In 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing with the monocoque-framed,four-stroke NR500. The FIM rules limited engines to four cylinders, so the NR500 hadnon-circular, ‘race-track’, cylinders, each with 8 valves and two connecting rods, in order toprovide sufficient valve area to compete with the dominant two-stroke racers. Unfortunately, itseemed Honda tried to accomplish too much at one time and the experiment failed. For the1982 season, Honda debuted its first two-stroke race bike, the NS500 and in 1983, Honda wontheir first 500 cc Grand Prix World Championship with Freddie Spencer. Since then, Honda hasbecome a dominant marque in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, winning a plethora of top-leveltitles with riders such as Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. Honda also head the number ofwins at the Isle of Man TT having notched up 227 victories in the solo classes and SidecarTT,including Ian Hutchinson’s clean sweep at the 2010 races.[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Antarctica largest DessertA desert is defined by the amount of precipitation (rain, snow, mist and fog) in an area. A regionthat receives very little precipitation (the exact amount depends on who you ask) is classified asa desert. There are many types of deserts, including subtropical, coastal and polar deserts.What they all have in common is a barren, windswept landscape, which makes it difficult forplants and animals alike to gain a foothold on land. This all certainly applies to Antarctica.The average yearly rainfall at the South Pole over the past 30 years was a tiny 10 mm (0.4 in).Most of the continent is covered by ice fields carved by the wind, and craggy mountains coveredin glaciers. While Antarctica is home to wonderful forests of low-lying mosses and lichens, thereare only two flowering plants that can survive the harsh conditions. And most of the animals weencounter – penguins, seals, whales and seabirds – rely on seafood for sustenance.While most deserts only cover part of a continent, the Antarctic Polar Desert spans the whole ofAntarctica. It snows and rains on the coastal Antarctic Peninsula, but in the McMurdo DryValleys in East Antarctica, it never rains. In fact, scientists believe that in some parts of the DryValleys it hasn’t snowed or rained for 14 million years! So although the coast sees someprecipitation, the average across the continent is low enough to classify all of Antarctica as apolar desert.Approximately 98% of the Antarctic continent is covered by a permanent ice sheet.This beautiful and wild expanse of ice covers an incredible 14 million km² (5.4 million squaremiles). That’s about the same area as the United States and Mexico combined!At its deepest, Antarctica’s ice is 4.5km (2.7 miles) thick. If it melted, global sea levels would riseabout 60 m (200 ft). That’s a lot of ice. And due to Antarctica’s desert conditions, it has taken animpressive 45 million years for it to grow to its current thickness.The interior is very dry andrarely sees clouds. Here, the annual precipitation averages around 50 mm (1.9 in), and most ofthis falls as snow or ice crystals. This gives rise to some of the most ethereal weather conditionsyou can see on earth including frost flowers, solar haloes and polar stratospheric clouds.By contrast, the coast has a maritime climate influenced by the ocean and it’s quite common tosee low clouds and mist clinging to the craggy mountains. The Antarctic coastline can receivemore than 200 mm (7.8 in) of precipitation each year.

On the Antarctic Peninsula, which travellers can visit in the summer months, it’s quite possibleto see snow, rain and sunshine in one day. Some northern parts of the Antarctic Peninsulareceive 500 mm (19.7 in) between October and March, and on nearby subantarctic islands thiscan double, with 1000 mm (39.4 in) each year! That’s why we make sure that everyone on ourvoyages has a top notch, complimentary polar expedition jacket. These jackets are water andwind-resistant, so you’ll be protected from the elements whatever the weather.Tundra anddesert biomes share some features. They both:Receive very little rainfallSupport limited vegetationHowever, they differ in a few key ways. While deserts can be either hot or cold, tundra ischaracterised by cold temperatures between -40°C and 18°C (-40°F and 64°F). Tundra is oftenfound in cool subarctic and subantarctic regions and alpine areas. Deserts, on the other hand,can be found at any latitude, from sea level to high altitudes.The defining feature of tundra is permafrost, a thick layer of soil that stays frozen all year. Intundra biomes a thin, surface layer of soil thaws in the summer allowing lichens, mosses andsmall shrubs to grow, while the soil beneath never thaws.While Antarctica is classified as a desert, many of the nearby islands are considered tundra,including the South Shetland Islands, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.Antarctica maybe a desert, but it’s surrounded by iridescent blue icebergs, an endless expanse of ocean and adome of polar sky. If you’d like to find out how you can join a small ship expedition cruise toAntarctica, please take a look at our upcoming voyages here. And if you’d like to keep learningabout Antarctica, this article with 10 fun Antarctic facts is a good place to continue reading.If you’re interested in learning more about Antarctica or seeing for yourself what it’s all about,contact our expedition experts today.At 14.2 million square kilometers [5.5 million square miles],Antarctica is the largest desert in the world,” Wille told Live Science. “Some regions ofAntarctica, like the McMurdo Dry Valleys, are believed to have not received any precipitation in14 million years.” This epic lack of precipitation is due in large part to cold temperatures, nearbymountains that block clouds, and strong winds that suck moisture from the air.Even for a desert, this region is exceptionally parched. According to scientists who are part ofthe National Science Foundation’s LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) project in Antarctica,the McMurdo Dry Valleys have no snow or ice except for the few lakes that are permanentlyiced over. But it isn’t completely barren. There are microbes, mosses and lichens that cantolerate the dry deep freeze.Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of thecontinents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annualprecipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world’sfreshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels byalmost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature onEarth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in

summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades.Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition ledby Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed sawfurther exploration in French, American, and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing wasby a Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 20th century, there were a few expeditions into theinterior of the continent. British explorers were the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in1909, and the geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorers.Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 AntarcticTreaty System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions,and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. Tourism, fishing and research are themain human activities in and around Antarctica. During the summer months, about 5,000 peoplereside at research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter. Despite itsremoteness, human activity has a significant impact on the continent via pollution, ozonedepletion, and climate change.Antarctica is a good place to find meteorites, or rocks that fallfrom space to Earth. Scientists find more meteorites in Antarctica than any other place in theworld. Meteorites are easier to see on the white ice. Also, meteorites that fall to Antarctica areprotected by the ice for a long time.NASA sends teams to Antarctica to learn more about the planet Mars. Antarctica and Mars havea lot in common. Both places are cold. Both places are dry like a desert. NASA tested robots inAntarctica that later landed on Mars.NASA also goes to Antarctica to study astronaut nutrition. Like people that are in Antarctica inthe winter, astronauts in space are not in the sunlight. The sun helps the human body makevitamins. Scientists study people that visit Antarctica to learn how to help astronauts in spaceget enough vitamins.Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The temperature in the winter iscold enough to freeze water all the time. The temperature in the middle of Antarctica is muchcolder than the temperature on the coasts.Antarctica has two seasons: summer and winter. Earth is tilted in space and the direction of tiltnever changes. During summer, Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted toward the sun. It isalways sunny. In winter, Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted away from the sun. Then, thecontinent is always dark.Antarctica is a desert. It does not rain or snow a lot there. When it snows, the snow does notmelt and builds up over many years to make large, thick sheets of ice, called ice sheets.Antarctica is made up of lots of ice in the form of glaciers, ice shelves and icebergs.Antarctica has no trees or bushes. The only plants that can live in a place that cold are mossand algae[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: BoliviaBolivia is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered byBrazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to thesouthwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government and Administrative Capital is La Paz,which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while theconstitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrialcenter is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (tropical lowlands), a mostlyflat region in the east of the country.The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitarystate, divided into nine departments. Its geography varies from the peaks of the Andes in theWest, to the Eastern Lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country iswithin the Andean mountain range. With 1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi) of area, Bolivia is thefifth largest country in South America, after Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia (andalongside Paraguay, one of the only two landlocked countries in the Americas), the 27th largestin the world, the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere, and the world’sseventh largest landlocked country, after Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chad, Niger, Mali, andEthiopia.The country’s population, estimated at 12 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians,Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, and Africans. Spanish is the official and predominant language,although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spokenare Guarani, Aymara, and Quechua languages.Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, while thenorthern and eastern lowlands were inhabited by independent tribes. Spanish conquistadorsarriving from Cusco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During theSpanish colonial period Bolivia was administered by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. Spain builtits empire in large part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivia’s mines. After the first callfor independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic,named for Simón Bolívar.Over the course of the 19th and early 20th century Bolivia lost controlof several peripheral territories to neighboring countries including the seizure of its coastline byChile in 1879 and Acre territory to Brazil.Bolivia experienced a succession of military and civilian governments until 1971, when HugoBanzer led a CIA-supported coup d’état that replaced the socialist government of Juan JoséTorres with a military dictatorship. Banzer’s regime cracked down on left-wing and socialistopposition and other forms of dissent, resulting in the torture and deaths of a number of Boliviancitizens. Banzer was ousted in 1978 and later returned as the democratically elected presidentof Bolivia from 1997 to 2001. Under the 2006–2019 presidency of Evo Morales the country sawsignificant economic growth and political stability.Modern Bolivia is a charter member of the UN, IMF, NAM,OAS, ACTO, Bank of the South,ALBA, and USAN. Bolivia remains the second poorest country in South America, though it hasslashed poverty rates and has the fastest growing economy in South America (in terms of GDP).It is a developing country. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing,mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refinedpetroleum. Bolivia is very rich in minerals, including tin, silver, lithium, and copper.Around AD400, Tiwanaku went from being a locally dominant force to a predatory state. Tiwanaku

expanded its reaches into the Yungas and brought its culture and way of life to many othercultures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Tiwanaku was not a violent culture in many respects. Toexpand its reach, Tiwanaku exercised great political astuteness, creating colonies, fosteringtrade agreements (which made the other cultures rather dependent), and instituting statecults.The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire began in 1524 and was mostly completed by1533. The territory now called Bolivia was known as Charcas, and was under the authority ofthe Viceroy of Peru in Lima. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcas located inChuquisaca (La Plata—modern Sucre). Founded in 1545 as a mining town, Potosí soonproduced fabulous wealth, becoming the largest city in the New World with a populationexceeding 150,000 people.The struggle for independence started in the city of Sucre on 25 May1809 and the Chuquisaca Revolution (Chuquisaca was then the name of the city) is known asthe first cry of Freedom in Latin America. That revolution was followed by the La Paz revolutionon 16 July 1809. The La Paz revolution marked a complete split with the Spanish government,while the Chuquisaca Revolution established a local independent junta in the name of theSpanish King deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Both revolutions were short-lived and defeatedby the Spanish authorities in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de La Plata, but the following year theSpanish American wars of independence raged across the continent.Bolivia was captured and recaptured many times during the war by the royalists and patriots.Buenos Aires sent three military campaigns, all of which were defeated, and eventually limiteditself to protecting the national borders at Salta. Bolivia was finally freed of Royalist dominion byMarshal Antonio José de Sucre, with a military campaign coming from the North in support ofthe campaign of Simón Bolívar. After 16 years of war the Republic was proclaimed on 6 August1825.In 1836, Bolivia, under the rule of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, invaded Peru to reinstallthe deposed president, General Luis José de Orbegoso. Peru and Bolivia formed thePeru-Bolivian Confederation, with de Santa Cruz as the Supreme Protector. Following tensionbetween the Confederation and Chile, Chile declared war on 28 December 1836. Argentinaseparately declared war on the Confederation on 9 May 1837. The Peruvian-Bolivian forcesachieved several major victories during the War of the Confederation: the defeat of theArgentine expedition and the defeat of the first Chilean expedition on the fields of Paucarpatanear the city of Arequipa. The Chilean army and its Peruvian rebel allies surrenderedunconditionally and signed the Paucarpata Treaty. The treaty stipulated that Chile wouldwithdraw from Peru-Bolivia, Chile would return captured Confederate ships, economic relationswould be normalized, and the Confederation would pay Peruvian debt to Chile. However, theChilean government and public rejected the peace treaty. Chile organized a second attack onthe Confederation and defeated it in the Battle of Yungay. After this defeat, Santa Cruz resignedand went to exile in Ecuador and then Paris, and the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation wasdissolved.Following the renewed independence of Peru, Peruvian president General AgustínGamarra invaded Bolivia. On 18 November 1841, the battle de Ingavi took place, in which theBolivian Army defeated the Peruvian troops of Gamarra (killed in the battle). After the victory,Bolivia invaded Perú on several fronts. The eviction of the Bolivian troops from the south of Peruwould be achieved by the greater availability of material and human resources of Peru; theBolivian Army did not have enough troops to maintain an occupation. In the district of Locumba– Tacna, a column of Peruvian soldiers and peasants defeated a Bolivian regiment in the

so-called Battle of Los Altos de Chipe (Locumba). In the district of Sama and in Arica, thePeruvian colonel José María Lavayén organized a troop that managed to defeat the Bolivianforces of Colonel Rodríguez Magariños and threaten the port of Arica. In the battle of Tarapacáon 7 January 1842, Peruvian militias formed by the commander Juan Buendía defeated adetachment led by Bolivian colonel José María García, who died in the confrontation. Boliviantroops left Tacna, Arica and Tarapacá in February 1842, retreating towards Moquegua andPuno.[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Peru is a country in South America that’s home to a section ofAmazon rainforest and Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city high in the Andes mountains. Theregion around Machu Picchu, including the Sacred Valley, Inca Trail and colonial city of Cusco,is rich in archaeological sites. On Peru’s arid Pacific coast is Lima, the capital, with a preservedcolonial center and important collections of pre-Columbian art.Peru is undoubtedly endowedwith notable attractions you would love to visit, from the Seven Wonders of the World, MachuPicchu, to the mysterious Nazca Lines in the Peruvian desert. Even a glimpse of the Amazonrainforest scenery will chill your heart and enhance your meditation.Peru is essentially a tropicalcountry, with its northern tip nearly touching the Equator. Despite its tropical location, a greatdiversity of climates, ways of life, and economic activities is brought about by the extremes ofelevation and by the southwest winds that sweep in across the cold Peru Current (or HumboldtCurrent), which flows along its Pacific shoreline. The immense difficulties of travel posed by theAndes have long impeded national unity. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon, lies only about 600miles (965 km) northeast of Lima, the capital, but, before the airplane, travelers between thecities often chose a 7,000-mile (11,250-km) trip via the Amazon, the Atlantic and Caribbean, theIsthmus of Panama, and the Pacific, rather than the shorter mountain route.The coastal plaincan be readily divided into three parts—north, central, and south—on the basis of the amount oflevel land and the distance between the Andean ranges and the sea. Generally speaking, theamount of level coastal land diminishes from north to south. In the northern region, fromEcuador to Chimbote, the plain is typically some 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) wide, with amaximum width of more than 90 miles (140 km) in the Sechura Desert south of Piura. Thecentral coastal region, which stretches from Chimbote to Nazca, is narrower than the northernregion and is characterized by areas of rough hills that extend from the Andes to the shores ofthe ocean. From Nazca southward to the Chilean border the coast is for the most part lined bylow mountains; the southern valleys are narrow, and only in scattered spots are level landsfound near the ocean.The Sierra, or Andean, regionAlong the western edge of South America, the Andes Mountains were created by tectonicactivity in which the South American Plate overrode the Nazca Plate. The Peruvian Andes aretypical of mountain regions of the Pacific Rim: they are young in geologic terms, and theircontinuing uplift is manifested by frequent earthquakes and much instability. Three mainbackbones protrude from the Peruvian Andes; they are commonly called the cordillerasOccidental, Central, and Oriental, although these designations are not used within Peru.Slopesare relatively gentle in northern Peru, and maximum elevations seldom exceed 16,000 feet(about 5,000 metres). The Andes in central Peru are higher and more rugged. The ranges of thecentral zone form particularly difficult barriers to movement. The main pass east of Lima, for

instance, is at an elevation of more than 15,000 feet (4,500 metres)—higher than many of thepeaks in the north. Many of the mountains of central Peru are snowcapped and are a popularattraction for climbers and tourists. Of particular fame is the Cordillera Blanca, with the country’shighest peak, Mount Huascarán, at 22,205 feet (6,768 metres), and nearby Huascarán NationalPark (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985). In southern Peru the character of theAndes changes to that of a high plateau region; this is the Puna, with vast tablelands andelevations between 13,000 and 16,000 feet (about 4,000 and 5,000 metres). Scattered peaks,with elevations of up to about 21,000 feet (6,400 metres), protrude above the broad southernplateaus. Beginning northwest of Arequipa, many of the southern peaks form a volcanic chainthat stretches into northern Chile, including Ampato, Huacla Huacla, and Misti.Peruvian territorywas home to several cultures during the ancient and medieval periods, and has one of thelongest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th millenniumBCE. Notable pre-colonial cultures and civilizations include the Caral-Supe civilization (theearliest civilization in the Americas and considered one of the cradles of civilization), the Nazcaculture, the Wari and Tiwanaku empires, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Inca Empire, thelargest known state in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Spanish Empire conquered the regionin the 16th century and Charles V established a viceroyalty with the official name of theKingdom of Peru that encompassed most of its South American territories, with its capital inLima. Higher education started in the Americas with the official establishment of the NationalUniversity of San Marcos in Lima in 1551.Peru formally proclaimed independence in 1821, and following the foreign military campaigns ofJosé de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, and the decisive battle of Ayacucho, Peru completed itsindependence in 1824. In the ensuing years, the country first suffered from political instabilityuntil a period of relative economic and political stability began due to the exploitation of guanothat ended with the War of the Pacific (1879–1884). Throughout the 20th century, Peru grappledwith political and social instability, including the internal conflict between the state and guerrillagroups, interspersed with periods of economic growth. Implementation of Plan VerdeshiftedPeru towards neoliberal economics under the reign of Alberto Fujimori and VladimiroMontesinos in the 1990s, with the former’s political ideology of Fujimorism leaving a lastingimprint on the country’s governance that continues to present day.Peru has a population thatincludes Mestizos, Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language isSpanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechuan languages, Aymara, orother Indigenous languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity ofexpressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.An alternative history is providedby the contemporary writer Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, son of an Inca princess and aconquistador. He said the name Birú was that of a common Amerindian who was happenedupon by the crew of a ship on an exploratory mission for governor Pedro Arias Dávila and wenton to relate more instances of misunderstandings due to the lack of a commonlanguage.Atahualpa (also Atahuallpa), the last Sapa Inca, became emperor when he defeatedand executed his older half-brother Huáscar in a civil war sparked by the death of their father,Inca Huayna Capac. In December 1532, a party of conquistadors (supported by the Chankas,Huancas, Cañaris and Chachapoyas as Indian auxiliaries) led by Francisco Pizarro defeatedand captured the Inca Emperor Atahualpa in the Battle of Cajamarca. The Spanish conquest of