From Dense Jungles to Mountainous Valleys... Here's Why You Should Shoot in Peru

Peru is known as a world-famous tourist destination. Its diverse and appealing locations range from deep, dense jungles and mountainous valleys, as well as arid deserts and beautiful virgin beaches. These terrains are sometimes only a few hours away from each other, allowing foreigners to experience a wide arrange of landscapes and vistas without the usual arduous travelling. 

The change of government has brought forth a new push in the tourism industry, but a politician with ties to the national film industry is seeing untapped possibilities for our bio-diverse country: Salvador del Solar - our new minister of culture - wants to promote Peru as a premiere shooting location for international productions.

This makes sense - Peru has a wide array of beautiful locations that so far remain unseen in big foreign movies, as opposed to fellow LATAM countries like Chile and Uruguay, who’s landscapes have already been featured in Hollywood blockbusters. Peru’s striking scenery is waiting to be discovered. 

Peru’s adaptable and chameleonic geography is defined by its three natural regions - costa (coastline), sierra (highlands) and selva (rainforest). Each brings a distinctive, characteristic look to their location shooting. The coastline has Peru’s famous northern, paradise-like beaches and vast deserts. The sierra’s mountainous terrain contains peculiar places such as the mysterious rock forests of Pampachiri in the Apurímac Region and Markawasi in Cajamarca. The Rainbow Mountains in Cusco - ancient capital of the Inca Empire - provide an almost other-worldly vista that will surely distinguish any production filmed in its multi-coloured slopes.

The massive rainforests of the Selva region bring to mind countless adventure movies from Hollywood’s past. This was surely in Werner Herzog’s mind when he decided to shoot his movies Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo in the banks of the amazon river. Thankfully, location shooting in those regions has become much simpler and cost-effective; a newly constructed inter-oceanic highway  that pierces through the jungle makes even the most inscrutable parts of the forest available for filming.

Peru is an extremely cost-effective place to shoot in general. Progressive over-time fees are not part of our filming standards, and there are no limits to the number of shooting hours per day, including when working with children or animals. 16-to-20 hour shifts are typical and something all Peruvian audiovisual professionals are accustomed to. We do not have unions regulating these issues. Everything is responsibly self-monitored. It is a question of trust and flexibility in the negotiations. 

Peru also has some of the oldest cities in South America, providing its towns with varied architectural styles that range from classic colonial to modern. Not to mention a vivid nightlife and a cuisine that has been dubbed many times the best in the entire world. As for language barriers, the tourism industry has incited even the least-educated part of the public to handle low-level basic English skills. This means department heads and most assistants know the language very well.

Why not come on this adventurous journey and film in Peru?