Lima is the capital of Peru and its largest city. Founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, the modern city is a curious mix of the modern mega city with some 'islands of modernity', large but orderly slum areas and colonial architecture in the city center. Lima was, the seat of the Spanish rule during 300 years, and as such it has wonderful churches, cloisters and monasteries that are worth a visit.
Lima is also the best place to try the wonderful Peruvian cuisine, which has a huge variety of ingredients from coast, mountain and Amazon regions. The cold sea current in front of Peru's large coast makes the sea very rich in fish and seafood, which have a great taste due to the special plankton they eat. Fish and seafood restaurants are therefore the best, and not expensive.
Lima has also a great subtropical climate, it is never too warm or too cold. People in Lima do not use raincoats or umbrellas, since rains are rare. In fact, Lima is built upon a valley surrounded by an extremely arid desert.
Metropolitan Lima is a metropolis of almost 10 million people. Many of these people have migrated from the Andes mountains to find work in Lima, without success. For that reason there is widespread poverty in the city center and in the peripheral areas. If you fly into Lima, the first thing you see is this type of poor neighbourhoods between the airport and Lima's historic centre.
Lima's pre-hispanic and colonial architecture are interesting and the city has several museums (such as Museo Larco) that tell the story of a country with a long history that produced a large number of coastal and Andean civilizations (such as the Moche, Chavin, and the Incas) and many local cultures. There are several archeological sites both within and around the city (locally known as "huaca"). The largest archeological complex is located in Pachacamac, about 10 km south of Lima.
PLACE TO VISIT
Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor, is the main square of downtown Lima. In the Spanish tradition, it's bordered in four sides by Government/Presidential Palace or Palacio de Gobierno, the Cathedral and Archbishop's Palace, the Municipalidad or City Hall, and assorted businesses.
Museo de Arte, permanent and temporary exhibits of Peruvian art, covering pre-hispanic, colonial, republican and modern art
La Iglesia de San Francisco, Fans of colonial churches will be pleased with the architecture of this well-known church in downtown Lima. However, the more compelling reasons to visit this cathedral include underground catacombs featuring over 25,000 real human skeletons (buried between the late 16th and early 19th centuries) arranged in artistic patterns, and also a beautiful library with mysterious, oversized books and spiral staircases in Harry Potteresque form.
Cerro San Cristóbal,This hill is situated close to the Rimac river at 500m above sea level and from here the visitor can contemplate an incomparable landscape: The city with its high buildings, the course of the river Rimac, as well as asphalt roads of the sea resorts and districts. An observation point with an illuminated cross, a site museum and a restaurant that has 'anticuchos' (kebabs) and 'picarones' (fritters), are its best attractions and a good motive for a visit. Entry to the museum costs: Adults: 1 sol Children: 50 centimos. It's not so easy to get here, but many tour companies include a visit here on their itineraries and taxi drivers will know how to go.
Instituto Riva Agüero, in Jirón Camaná, holds two museums: an interesting collection of popular arts, including masks and costumes from current festivities in the Andean region; and a small but nice collection of archaeological artifacts from Lima sites. The Instituto is housed on a very old colonial townhouse, one of the few of its kind open to the public.
Huaca Pucllana, dates back to 200-700 AD. Located in Miraflores and made from small handmade, sun-dried brick, this huge construction is 22 meters high. It is divided into two areas, for ceremonial and administrative ends. Guided tours include a visit through the museum, the small park with native flora and fauna and the craftsmen's house where handicrafts are on exhibit and for sale. Admission is free. There is also an eponymous restaurant on the site itself, which, though expensive, offers stunning views of the complex, particularly at night, when it's floodlit.
Luis Miro Quesada Garland hall, is commonly known as the Galeria de la Municipalidad de Miraflores (Miraflores Municipal Gallery). Located in the Municipality building, opposite Avenida Larco and some fifty meters from the Parque Central, it is one of the most popular art galleries in Lima. The exhibition rooms are spacious, and the exhibitions themselves are generally very good. Work on show is mainly by local artists, with the occasional foreign contribution. Artists who display their work here usually go on to acquire a good reputation in the national art scene.
Larcomar. It's like a mall, where you can eat, shop, go to the cinema, it has two nice discotecs for the night. The discotecs are open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and in summer (January and February) also Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Larcomar's principal attraction is its location. It is located in Miraflores, in a high hill where you can see the beach while eating or just walking.
Museo de la Nacion, along Av. Javier Prado
Museo Larco Herrera, showcases remarkable chronological galleries providing an excellent overview on 3000 years of development of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. Located in a unique vice-royal mansion of the 18th century built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid, is surrounded by beautiful gardens, in Pueblo Libre borough. Popular thanks to its ample collection of erotic pottery from the Mochica culture and the Gold & Jewelry of Ancient Peru exhibition.
National Museum of Archaeology and History, also in the Pueblo Libre borough, quite good and very didactic; the area surrounding it is worth a walk.
Museo de Oro del Perú, Alonso de Molina 1100, Monterrico. Overrated. Peru's gold museum contains a huge collection of gaudy, gold works. Not the best place to learn about Peruvian precolumbian cultures. A large part of a Peruvian 20,000-piece collection of gold is fake, according to the Peru's consumer protection agency. Ref:BBC News Article .
Pachacamac (site in Spanish) about 25km south of Lima is huge archaeological site containing pre-inka and inka temples (entrance fee 6 Soles). This was one of the major pilgrimage sites in South America, in the years 500 to 1500. The temples are not very well preserved. There are three ramp pyramids and a temple of the sun (the only temple which may be accessed). Unfortunately, the ruins may only be seen from a road, without a pair of binoculars a very disappointing exercise. The on-site museum is poor. From Miraflores, take a colectivo to 'Puente Primavera'. From there, take a 'San Bartolo' colectivo to Lurin (2.50 Soles). Tell the conductor that you want to drop off at the ruinas de Pachacamac.
WHAT TO DO
The city of kings offers a wide variety of activities. As it is the only south american capital in front of the sea and is located in between different sea currents, Lima is a paradise for surfers and food based on fish and seafood. Lima´s cuisine is considered as one of the best and more diverse of the world.
Lima offers inside the metropolitan area, many outdoor activities such as Paragliding and Hangliding that can be done in a Tandem flight over Miraflores with AeroXtreme PeryFly or flying by your own doing a full course or a one day course with a paragliding school like Infinity Paragliding School or Parapente Paragliding Peru. Most of the flights are done in one of the cliffedge sides of Miraflores, next to Parque del Amor.
Other entertaining and interesting option are the Bike Tours through the best spots of the city such as Barranco, San isidro, Miraflores, Chorrillos and the Downtown area. Companies like Bike Tours of Lima organize guided bicycle tours in english or spanish at reasonable prices. Also there is a possibility to rent a bike for hours or days to do your own bike trip.
Mountain Biking is also a great option very close to the city. The districts of Pachacamac, Cieneguilla and Mala have very good bicycle paths and circuits to have a great experience with a great weather and under professional supervision. Companies like Peru Bike and Peru Biking Tours offer different alternatives.
Traditional City tours are also available in the city, Lima Vision and Urbanito have different daily tours.
If you are used to boring clinical supermarkets, drop by one of the local markets to experience something very different. Fruits and vegetables hang freely, fresh from their vines, fish and poultry as well, freshly butchered. Be careful when purchasing raw or uncooked food.
Travel Lima Green Toad Bus (Travel Peru and Bolivia by Bus),. Ride the Toad! Travel your own way on Peru's only hop on hop off bus. We offer you greater freedom and flexibility as you backpack around Peru and Bolivia. The Green Toad Bus is a door-to-door service to the best hostels in the land, giving you the freedom to choose your own accommodation and food options, helping to cut costs as you travel. Choose to jump off in Cusco to do the Inca Trail, or Lake Titicaca to explore the culture on the islands, then simply jump on again to continue your exploration of magical Peru and Bolivia. The Green Toad Bus is designed for travelers who want choice as they travel, the only choice you don't have is having fun along the way.
Museo Larco, Founded in 1926 by Peruvian archaeologist Rafael Larco Hoyle, the Larco Museum showcases remarkable chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It is located in an 18 th century vice-royal mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid and surrounded by a stunning garden. The Museum features the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and the famous Erotic gallery, one of Peru's most visited attractions. Larco is one of the few museums in the world where visitors have the unique opportunity to enter the storage area and view its 45,000 classified archaeological objects. Don't miss the restaurant Café del Museo or the Museum Gallery Shop that sells certified replicas of the Museum's most exceptional artifacts. The Larco Museum's masterpieces are icons of pre-Columbian art and continue to be exhibited in the world's most prestigious museums. S./30.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Jorge Chavez International Airport (IATA: LIM|ICAO: SPIM) (also called Jorge Chavez Airport Lima-Callao; flight infos T:+51 (1) 511-6055) is in the harbour city Callao (part of metropolitan Lima). Lima is well connected with most cities in South America. There are regular flights to Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Newark, Atlanta and Houston in the US. There are daily flights from Amsterdam, Madrid, Miami, Bogotá, Medellín, Quito, Santiago de Chile and Toronto as well.
Arrival at the Airport can be chaotic. Most flights from overseas arrive in clumps either early in the morning or very late at night, which means that getting through immigration and customs can be tremendously time consuming; a 1.5 hour difference between arrival at the gate and exiting customs is not unusual at busy times. The area immediately outside of customs is typically crowded, full of people waiting for arriving passengers (it's not uncommon for entire families to show up to greet a returning family member), including pre-booked car and taxi services holding up signs with passengers' names; in recent years, a large area where passengers can stand freely and scan the crowd to look for people and not be accosted has been cordoned off in front of customs exit.
By bus - Unlike many other cities in Peru, Lima doesn't have a big bus terminal. Most companies are in La Victoria, not Lima's nicest neighbourhood. More expensive express buses tend to run from terminals by the inner ringroad.
Regular buses run up and down the Panamerican Highway and inland:
South: Pisco, Ica, Nazca, Arequipa & Tacna
North: Huaraz, Chimbote, Trujillo, Chiclayo & Piura
East: Iquitos, Madre de Dios, Puno
