Peruvian culture is the result of the gradual blending of Amerindian cultures with European and Asian ethnic groups. The ethnic diversity and rugged geography of Peru allowed diverse traditions and customs to co-exist. Peruvian culture has been deeply influenced by Native culture, Spanish culture, and Asian culture. Other minor influences on their culture are Chinese, Japanese, and other European peoples.

Peruvian literature has been shaped by the convergence of indigenous oral tradition and the technical resources of writing introduced by the Spanish. This fusion, from the very beginning, enabled the collection and expression of the diverse and complex cultural realities that came into conflict after the conquest.

Quechua and Aymara literature, transmitted orally, was deeply linked to religious, agricultural, romantic, festive, and funerary rituals. These characteristics are reflected in certain forms of poetry and prose, as seen in the early historical chronicles, including the Comentarios Reales de los Incas by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Nueva Crónica y Buen Gobierno by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. Also notable is the connection between the yaravíes and patriotic and romantic poetry, represented in the work of Mariano Melgar.

During the colonial and republican periods, the dominance of the criollo oligarchy in Peruvian society favored the adoption of European literary forms at the expense of indigenous ones. In this context, neoclassical authors such as Manuel Ascensio Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga emerged, dominating the literary scene until the late 19th century when romanticism took hold through figures like Carlos Augusto Salaverry and José Arnaldo Márquez. The crisis resulting from the War of the Pacific paved the way for modernism, with exponents such as José Santos Chocano and José María Eguren.

In the 20th century, avant-garde movements gained strength, driven by magazines like Colónida and Amauta, the latter founded in 1926 by José Carlos Mariátegui, with notable collaborators such as César Vallejo. Meanwhile, indigenism resurfaced in the poetry of Luis Fabio Xammar. The avant-garde movements fragmented into various lyrical proposals, such as those of Xavier Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastián Salazar Bondy, Carlos Germán Belli, among others, opening new and diverse expressive fields.

In 19th-century Peruvian prose, the costumbrismo of Manuel Ascensio Segura and Ricardo Palma, along with the modernism of Manuel González Prada and José Santos Chocano, set the literary course. By the 20th century, indigenist prose reached some of its peak moments with Ciro Alegría and José María Arguedas, whose influences extended to authors such as Sebastián Salazar Bondy, Manuel Scorza, and Julio Ramón Ribeyro. Mario Vargas Llosa and Alfredo Bryce Echenique, while maintaining a realist approach, incorporated new narrative techniques.

In poetry, prominent figures include Emilio Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Carlos Germán Belli, Arturo Corcuera, Antonio Cisneros, Wáshington Delgado, Marco Martos, and Carmen Ollé. In contemporary narrative, notable authors include Miguel Gutiérrez, Gregorio Martínez, Alonso Cueto, and Gustavo Rodríguez, among others.

Peru's cultural heritage originates from the ancient Andean civilizations that emerged in its territory before the arrival of the Spanish. The archaeological treasures of Peru testify to a significant cultural development that occurred without contact with other extracontinental cultures.