About 100 indigenous groups live in the rain forest of eastern Peru. These tribes live in virtual isolation from the rest of Peru's population, speaking traditional languages and surviving by hunting, fishing, and agriculture.

At least 53 ethnic groups live in the Amazon jungle, although only around five percent of Peru's population live in the Selva (the tropical region east of the Andes in the jungle).

The Moche culture (noted for exceptionally fine pottery), the Nazca culture (which made huge drawings in the desert) and the Chimu Kingdom (with its large adobe cities) are but three examples. The descendants of the Quechua and Aymará peoples populate the Andean highlands. Many do not speak Spanish and have preserved the customs and folklore of their ancestors.