Population
Geography
Climate
Gastronomy
Economy
Language
Religion

 

POPULATION

The metropolitan area has an approximate population of 930,824 inhabitants

 

GEOGRAPHY

The terrain of the province is mainly flat, with smooth slopes which elevate from west to east. Here is distinguished slight undulations and uneven elevations formed by continuous alluvial actions, of nature or of man. The cultivated lands are a result of the intense work of leveling to facilitate the irrigation. In the city of Chiclayo you can experience a combination of warm lands, an oasis of green plantations and plants and the freshness of the sea air.

 

CLIMATE

The endless summer climate of Chiclayo is warm and inviting throughout the year, with little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. Officially, Chiclayo's summer months fall between December and March. This really is the only time of the year when you are likely to experience rainy weather of any kind. However, summer rainfall levels in Chiclayo are moderate to say the least, and rarely exceed 60mm/2.4 inches for both February and March. The favorable year-round climate means that whenever you arrive in this part of Peru, you don't have to worry about the weather when sightseeing.

 

GASTRONOMY

This city has the best food in northern Peru. Among the featured dishes are Ceviche, rice with duck, goat with loche (a local pre-Columbian squash which provides a genuine and exquisite taste to the dish), ground corn with beef and yellow rice, dried meat, nuts, mashed potatoes, tortillas, scallops, shellfish, local soft sausage flavored with herbs and spices, among others.

 

ECONOMY

The main agricultural products of the area are rice, sugar cane and cotton, which are grown in the many fertile valleys that surround the urban areas. Until Peru's economic decline in 1976, the port of Pimentel served as Chiclayo's main export line; sugar refined in Pomalca passed through Chiclayo by train and was exported to various destinations along the Pacific Rim. With the socialization of agriculture and subsequent demise of the Peruvian economy, Chiclayo ceased to export by sea due, in part, to the shutting down of the regions only two railroads in 1975, because of their inability to compete with transport using paved roads.
Although the economy suffered for a while in the late 70's, all economic prosperity was not lost to the region. As fate (and technology) would have it, the same road that took away the railroad (and export) business, the Panamericana Highway constructed in the 1920s, began to play a new key role in filling the export gap of the region due to its easy access and connections between the mountain passes that allow access to the jungle and the sugar cooperatives of the valleys.

 

LANGUAGE

The official languages is Spanish, although there are many other pre Inca dialects still being spoken, such us the Mochica.

 

RELIGION

The official religion is Catholicism.