In an interesting interview in this edition, Alfredo Narvaez, director of the National Institute of Culture - North, confirms that the development of sustainable tourism in northern Peru is not the product of chance. A group of committed people and institutions have been working for some time to put Peru’s north-eastern tourist circuit in its rightful place on the tourist map of Latin America. Proof can be seen in this edition in Elias Mujica’s piece on the Moche Trail and articles by archaeologists Walter Alva (Royal Tombs of Sipan) and Carlos Elera (Sican Museum).

One of the first steps in creating cultural circuits for tourists is choosing icons that are representative of each area: La Libertad has Huaca de la Luna and Huaca el Brujo, Chan Chan, the Moche valley and the historic center of the city of Trujillo. In Lambayeque we have Tucume, Sipan and Batan Grande. Cajamarca has Kuntur Wasi, the ransom chamber, Cumbemayo and Baños del Inca, while Amazonas has Kuelap and Leymebamba.

The strategy being followed gives priority to creating links between local communities so that, for example, the new and magnificent museums express not only the past but present day life and prospects for the future. Mr. Narvaez is an optimist on this point, and with good reason: today we can see changes in local people, regional policies now include proposals for culture, tourism and education. Hostels such as Los Horcones, in Tucume are being built of traditional materials. All of this reinforces the idea that our cultural heritage can indeed be an important option for development.

The recent inauguration in Lambayeque of two of the most important museums in the country - and probably in Latin America, give the northern coast of Peru the opportunity to achieve the prominence that has traditionally only been enjoyed by the Southern Andean region and with the additional attraction of the new, given that the cultures of northern Peru are little known in the rest of the world.

This then is a phenomenon which successfully uses three factors that identify our country: history, nature and living cultures. The challenge is clear, it is to create a new tourist hub defined by sustainability, that is, respect for history, natural resources and local identity.