Peru: Lima center and tourist districts
Lima Center - Main square - Miraflores - Barranco - beach - San Isidro - Jesus Maria - Pueblo Libre with museums - San Miguel with the zoo - arts and crafts (artesanía) shops in Lima
presented by Michael Palomino (2008)
from: Dilwyn Jenkins: The rough guide to Peru; Rough Guides, New York London, Delhi; 6th edition September 2006; www.roughguides.com
The City of Lima
Laid out across a wide, flat, alluvial plain, Lima fans out in long, straight streets from its heart, Lima Centro. The old town focuses on the colonial Plaza Mayor (often still called the Plaza de Armas) - which is separated from the Río Rimac by the Presidential Palace and the railway station - and the more modern Plaza San Martín, which are separated by some five blocks of the Jirón de la Unión, Lima Centro's main shopping street. At its river end, the Plaza Mayor is fronted by the Cathedral and Palacio de Gobierno, while there's greater commercial activity around Plaza San Martín. The key to finding your way around the old part of town is to acquaint yourself with these two squares and the streets between.
From Lima Centro, the city's main avenues stretch out into the sprawling suburbs. The two principal routes are Avenida Colonial, heading out to the harbour area around the suburb of Callao and the airport, and perpendicula to this, the broad, tree-lined Avenida Arequipa reaching out to the old beach resort of Barranco. The Paseo de La República, more fondly known in Lima as El Zanjon (the Great Ditch) is a concrete, three-lane highway connecting central Lima with San Isidro, Miraflores and almost to Barranco. The suburb of Miraflores, the modern commercial heart of Lima, where much of the city's businesses have moved over the last thirty years, is located 7 or 8km down Avenida Arequipa and the Zanjon, by the ocean.
Lima's other main suburban sectors - San Isidro, another major modern commercial centre for banks and shopping, Barranco and Callao - all have their own specific characteristics and points of interest.
[Add to this there are many districts not mentioned].
[Telephone dialing code for Lima is 01, international 0051-1].
District Lima Centro
Map of the Center of Lima with some tourist indications
With all of its splendid architectural attractions, one would think that Lima Centro would have a touristy vibe, however, the neighbourhood is very much a centre of Limeños' [Lima's population] daily life. The main axis is formed by the streets connecting the grand squares of the Plaza San Martín and Plaza Mayor. Here the roads are narrow and busy, bringing together many of the city's office and bank workers with slightly down-market shops and street workers. The buildings are mostly of the colonial or Republican eras, though, apart from a selection of the (p.93)
best, in terms of heritage - like the Presidential Palace and Torre Tagle - many are in a state of disrepair
[because of speculation with concrete and cement and Fujimori laws for foreigners and for the government against the general population which has not changed yet].
To the east of the Plaza Mayor, there are several fine colonial attractions, like the [church] Iglesia de San Francisco and the [museum] Museo de la Inquisición. To the north you'll find the slightly run-down but fascinating Rimac suburb, home to the city's bullring and some fine Republican public constructions. South of the two main plazas, there are some lavish parks and galleries within walking distance.
The Plaza Mayor
Holy ground of Pizarro
Today the heart of the old town is around the Plaza Mayor [Main square] - until a few years ago known as the Plaza de Armas [Weapon square], or "armed plaza" (Plaza Armada) as the early conquistadores [colonialists] called it. There are no remains of any Indian heritage in or around the square; standing on the site of Tauri Chusko's palace is the relatively modern Palacio de Gobierno [Goverment palace], while the cathedral occupies the site of an Inca temple once dedicated to the Puma deity, and the Municipal Building lies on what was originally an Inca envoy's mansion.
The Palacio de Gobierno [Government palace] - also known as the Presidential Palace - was the site of Francisco Pizarro's house long before the present building was conceived. It was here that he spent the last few years of his life, until his assassination in 1541. As he died, his jugular severed by the assassin's rapier, Pizarro fell to the floor, drew a cross, then kissed it; even today some believe the grounds to be sacred.
Soldiers changing the guard
The palace isn't much to look at apart from the facade, completed in 1938, which is sufficiently opulent. The changing of the guard takes place outside the palace (mon-Sat starting at 11.45am) - it's not a particularly spectacular sight, though the soldiers look splendid in their scarlet and blue uniforms.
Offices for tours of the town
There are free guided tours (daily 9.30am-noon) in English and Spanish, which include watching the changing of the guard; to go on a tour you have to register with the Departamento de Actividades, office 201, [Jirón] Jr de la Unión, block 2, Plaza Peru (also known as Plaza Pizarro; T. 3113908), at least 24 hours prior to when you want the tour. You'll also get to see the imitation Baroque interior of the palace and its rather dull collection of colonial and reproduction furniture.
Lima cathedral and museums - earthquakes and rebuilding
Southeast across the square, less than 50m away from the Palacio de Gobierno [Goverment palace], the squat and austere Catedral (Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm, after 5pm for visiting the liturgies; $1.50), designed by Francisco Becerra, was modelled on a church from Seville, and has three aisles in a Renaissance style. When Becerra died in 1605, the Cathedral was far from completion. The towers alone took another forty years to finish and, in 1746, further frustration arrived in the guise of a devastating earthquake, which destroyed much of the building. Overall, particularly after restorations over the centuries due to damage, it is eclectic in style; the current version, which is essentially a reconstruction of Becerra's design, was rebuilt throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, then again after another quake in 1940.
It [the Main square] is primarily of interest for its Museum of Religious Art and Treasures (daily 10am-4.30pm; $1.50), which contains seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings and some choir stalls with fine wooden carvings by Catalan artist Pedro Noguero. Its other highlight is a collection of human remains thought to be Pizarro's body (quite fitting since he placed the first stone shortly before his death), which lie in the first chapel on the right. Although gloomy, the interior retains some of its appealing Churrigueresque (or highly elaborate Baroque) decor. The choir stalls are superb - exquisitely carved in the early seventeenth century by a Catalan artist. The Archbishop's Palace next door was rebuilt in 1924.
Directly across the square, the La Municipalidad de Lima [Lima town hall] (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm; free), is perpetually lined with groups of heavily armed guards and (p.95)
The speaking frog
Stretched across this part of the valley, little is known about the Pucllana, though it seems likely that it was originally named after a pre-Inca chief of the area. It has a hollow core running through its cross-section and is believed to have been constructed in the shape of an enormous frog, symbol of the rain god, who evidently spoke to priests through a tube connected to the cavern at its heart. This site may well have been the mysteriously unknown oracle after which the Rimac (meaning "he who speaks") Valley was named; a curious document from 1560 affirms that the "devil" spoke at this mound. From the top of the huaca [god] you can see over the office buildings and across the flat roofs of multicoloured houses in the heart of Miraflores (p.103).
Miraflores
Miraflores: Park of 7 June (Kennedy park, Central park) - Larco Mar shopping center - park of love
The suburb's central area focuses on the attractive, almost triangular Parque 7 de Junio (Miraflores Park, [Parque Kennedy, Parque central]) at the end of the Avenida Arequipa. The park, nearly grassed and with some attractive flower beds, divides into four areas of activity: at the top end is the pedestrian junction where the shoeshiners hang out; further down there's a small amphitheatre, which often has mime acts or music; next you come to a raised and walled circular flat concrete area, which has a good craft and antiques market set up on stalls every evening (6-10pm); and just down from here is a small section of gardens and a children's play area. The streets around the park are lined with flashy cafés and bars and crowded with shoppers, flowersellers and young men washing cars. In the park, particularly on Sundays, there are painters selling their artwork - some quite good, though aimed at the tourist market.
Larco Mar [shopping center], the flash new development at the bottom of Avenida Larco, has done an excellent job of integrating the park end of Miraflores with what was previously a rather desolate point. Essentially a shopping zone with patios and walkways open to the sky, sea and cliffs, Larco Mar is also home to several bars, ice-cream parlours, restaurants, cinemas and nightclubs.
From the end of Avenida Arequipa, Avenida Larco and Diagonal both fan out along the park en route to the ocean about 1km away. Near to where Avenida Larco reaches the shore, the small but vibrant Parque del Amor [Park of Love] sits on the clifftops above the Costa Verde and celebrates the fact that for decades this area has been a favorite haunt of young lovers, particularly the poorer Limeños [Lima population] who have no privacy at their often-overcrowded homes. A huge sculpture of a loving Andean couple clasping each other rapturously is usually surrounded by pairs of real-life lovers walking hand-in-hand or cuddling on the clifftops above the ocean, especially on sunday afternoons. In recent years there were reports of muggings in and around here, but recently it's become relatively safe again.
[As the couples hugged too much on the lawn the mayor of Miraflores decided in 2007 that the lawn is forbidden for humans, only dogs are permitted on the lawn...].
Museums in Miraflores: the mansion of the historian Palma - Enrico Poli museum and Amano museum with pre-Inca objects
Miraflores' only important mansion open to the public is the Casa de Ricardo Palma, at General Suarez 189 (Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 2.15-5pm; $2; T. 4455836), where Palma, probably Peru's greatest historian, lived for most of his life.
In terms of actual museums, there are two worth visiting in Miraflores, one of which, the Enrico Poli Museum, [Jirón] Lord Cochrane 466 (daily, hours by appointment; $15 per person for a minimum of five; T. 4222437), contains some of the finest pre-Inca archaeological treasures in Lima, including ceramics, gold and silver. The highlight of this private collection is the treasure found at Sepan in northern Peru, in particular four golden trumpets, each over a meter long and over a thousand years old.
The private Amano Museum, on [Jirón] C Retiro 160, off block 11 of [Avenida] Angamos Oeste (Mon-Fri, hours by appointment but usually at 3pm or 4pm, entry by donation; T. 4412909), also merits a visit for its fabulous exhibition of [pre-Inca] Chancay weavings (among the best of pre-Columbian textiles), as well as beautiful ceramics.
Bus connections from the center to Miraflores
The fastest way to get to Miraflores is to take any bus marked "Via Expressa" [motorway] from Avenida Abancay and get off, after about 25 minutes, at the Benavides (p.103)
Bridge [puente Benavides]. Alternatively, take a bus or colectivo with a sign for Benavides or Chorrillos from the first few blocks of Avenida Garcilaso de la Vega (a continuation of Avenida Tacna) and get off at El Haiti café/bar, the stop just before Parque 7 de Junio (Miraflores Park), often simply called El Parque de Miraflores rather than by its full name (p.104).
Barranco and the Costa Verde
Colourful district of artists and nightlife
Quieter than Miraflores, BARRANCO, about 3-4km from Larco Mar, overlooks the ocean and is scattered with old mansions, including fine colonial and Republican edifices, many beginning to fall apart through lack of care
[because of poverty by Fujimori dictatorship and by civil war and by salary cuts].
This was the capital's seaside resort during the nineteenth century and is now a kind of Limeño Left Bank, with young artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals taking over some of the older properties. Only covering three square kilometers, Barranco is quite densely populated, with some 40,000 inhabitants living in its delicately coloured houses. The primary attractions of Barranco are its bars, clubs and cafés clustered around the small but busy and well-kept Plaza Municipal de Barranco, which buzz with frenetic energy after dark whilst retaining much of the area's original charm and character. There's little else to see, specifically, though you may want to take a look at the clifftop remains of a funicular rail-line, which used to carry aristocratic families from the summer resort down to the beach.
The church of the Hermit - a wooden bridge and pubs - electricity museum - and an artifact collection
One block inland of the funicular, the impressive Iglesia de la Ermita (Church of the Hermit) sits on the cliff, with gardens to its front. Local legend says that the church was built here following a miraculous vision of a glowing Christ figure on this very spot.
Beside the church there's the Puente de los Suspiros, a pretty wooden bridge crossing a gully - the Bajada de Baños - which leads steeply down the gully to the ocean, passing exotic dwellings lining the crumbling gully sides. A path leads beside the church along the top edge of the gully to the Mirador Catalina Recavarren. There's a two-storey (p.104)
pub, La Posada del Mirador at the end of the path near a seacliff, and some other pleasant cafés and bars, buzzing during weekend evenings.
Also worth a browse is the Museo de Electricidad, [Jirón] Pedro de Osma 105 (daily 9am-5pm; free; T. 4776577), very close to the main plaza in Barranco, which displays a wide range of early electrical appliances and generating techniques.
Just down the road, at [Jirón] Pedro de Osma 421, the Museo de Arte Colonial Pedro de Osma (Tues-Sun 10am-1pm & 2.30-6pm; $3; T. 4670063) holds a number of treasures and antiques such as oil paintings, colonial sculptures and silverware (p.105).
-- Las Pallas, [Jirón] Cajamarca 212, Barranco, Lima, T. 4774629
A fascinating, veritable museum of artesanía, run by a British woman who has spent most of her life collecting fine works and who may be able to show you the rest of her collection (ring for an appointment) (p.119).
Barranco beach "Costa Verde"
Down beside the pounding rollers lies the Costa Verde beach area, so named because of vegetation clinging to the steep sandy cliffs. A bumpy road follows the shore from an exclusive yacht club and the Chorrillos fishermen's wharf northwest past both Barranco and Miraflores, almost to the suburb of Magdalena. The sea is cold and not too clean - and there's nothing here really other than sand, pebbles, a couple of beach clubs, a few restaurants (good for their seaside atmosphere rather than their reputation for high cuisine) and a resident surfing crowd. But Lima would seem sparse without it, and swimming in the surf is as good a way as any to extend a day exploring Barranco and Miraflores. As everywhere else, keep a sharp eye on your clothes and valuables (p.105).
[The beaches can be differently dirty. There are different theories about the dirty sea. It can be dirty by the industry, or it's a natural turn etc.]
Bus connections between the center and Barranco
Barranco is easily reached by picking up one of the many buses or colectivos (those marked Barranco or Chorrillos in their front window) travelling along Diagonal (which is one-way, from the central park towards Larco Mar and the ocean) (p.105).
San Isidro
Unless you're shopping, banking, or simply looking for a sauna or disco, there are few other reasons to stop off in SAN ISIDRO. One, though, is to take a stroll through the Bosque El Olivar [Olivar forest], just 150m west from block 34 of Avenida Arequipa. A charming grove first planted in 1560, it's now rather depleted in olive trees but you can still see the old press and millstone. There's also a stage where concerts and cultural events are often held; the grove has developed its own ecosystem which is home to over thirty different bird species, including doves, flycatchers and humming birds. Mostly, though, El Oliver is simply one of Lima's relatively few large open, green spaces. A few blocks northwest, just off Avenida El Rosario, is an impressive reconstructed adobe huaca [god] - including textiles oddly reminiscent of Scottish tartans (p.105).
[Another "attraction" in San Isidro is the private Golf Club which is forbidden for Lima's population to walk, so there is a territory of 10 times Kennedy park blocked for the Lima population].
Jesus Maria
The workaday suburb of Jesus Maria, just west of San Isidro and south of Lima Centro, only has one real attraction: the little-visited, but quite fascinating, Museo de Historia Natural Jesus Maria, Avenida Arenales 1256 (Mon-Fri 9am-3pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9am-1pm; $1.50; T. 4710117). The museum presents a comprehensive overview of Peruvian wildlife and botany, with its highlight, a sun fish, being one of only three known examples in the world of this colourful fish that can be found in the American coastal waters (p.105).
[Another attraction is the park "Mars field" ("campo de Mars") with the national monument and much space for games and leisure, with a public bath at the side, $4].
Pueblo Libre
Archeology Museum in Pueblo Libre
Oldest pre-Inca culture objects: tools and sculptures
The less-visited, relatively quiet backstreets of PUEBLO LIBRE, a suburb which lies between San Isidro and Callao, are home to a trio of Lima's major museums. Primary among them is the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Peru, on Plaza Bolívar at the corner of San Martín and Antonio Pola (Tues-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun and fiestas [festivities] 9am-4pm; $3; (p.105)
T. 4635070), which possesses a varied exhibition of pre-Inca artifacts and a number of historical exhibits relating mainly to the Republican period (1821 until the late nineteenth century). Although there's plenty to see, even more of the museum's immense collection is in storage, though some has shifted to the Museo de la Nación on the other side of town (see p.109).
Recently renovated displays give a detailed and accurate perspective on Peru's prehistory, a vision that comes as a surprise if you'd previously thought of Peru simply in terms of Incas and Conquistadors [colonialists]. the galleries are set around two colonial-style courtyards, the exhibits including stone tools some eight thousand years old, famous carved Chavín stones such as the magnificent Estela Raymondi, a diorite block intricately engraved with feline, serpent and falcon features, and the Tello Obelisk, a masterpiece in granite. The Manos Cruzados [crossed hands], or Crossed Hands stone from Kotosh [old pre-Inca temple place in Northern Peruvian mountains] is also on display, evidence of a mysterious cult from some five thousand years ago.
Deformed skulls from Paracas culture
From the Paracas culture there are sumptuous weavings and many excellent examples of deformed heads and trepanned skulls: one shows post-operative growth, and a male mummy, "frozen" at the age of 30 to 35, has fingernails still visible and a creepy, sideways glance fixed on his misshapen head.
Nasca sculptures
From Nasca there are incredible ceramics representing marine life, agriculture, flora, sexuality, wildlife, trophy-heads, and scenes from mythology and everyday life. The Mochica and Chimu cultures (see pp. 574-575) are represented, too, and there are also exhibits devoted to the Incas.
To get to the museum it's best to take a taxi, but there are micro buses that run along Avenida Brasil or Avenida Sucre, both only a few blocks away.
National History Museum
Residence of San Martín and Bolívar
The Museo Nacional de Historia (National Museum of History), adjacent to the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Peru (same hours and ticket price) and entered by the same door, is housed in a nineteenth-century mansion. It displays dazzling antique clothing, extravagant furnishings, and other period pieces, complemented by early Republican paintings. The liberators San Martín and Bolívar both lived here for a while.
Archeology Museum Rafael Larco Herrera
Pre-Inca ceramics
A fifteen-minute walk from here - you can literally just follow a blue line which is worn a little now but was been painted on the pavement north up Avenida Sucre then west along Avenida Bolivar for ten blocks - brings you to one of the city's most unusual museums, the Museo Arqueologico Rafael Larco Herrera, 1515 (daily 9am-6pm; $6; T. 4611835, www.museolarco.perucultural.org.pe), which contains hundreds of thousands of excellently preserved ceramics, many of them Chiclin or Mochica pottery from around Trujillo.
The mansion itself is noteworthy as a stylish casa Trujillana, from Trujillo, the northern city where this collection was originally kept. The museum houses the largest collection of Peruvian antiquities in the world and is divided into three sections: the main museum which contains an incredible range of household and funerary ceramics; the warehouse museum; and the erotic art museum, containing a selection of sexually-themed pre-Inca artifacts, which tend to attract the most interest.
[The Inca culture was a very strict and a war culture and extinguished all the erotics of the previous cultures].
From Lima Centro, you can get to the museum either by bus #23 from Avenida Abancay, by green microbus #37 from Avenida Nicolas de Pierola, or on bus #41 from Avenida Emancipación or Plaza Dos de Mayo; however it's much easier and quicker to take a taxi (about $3).
San Miguel
The zoo "Parque de las Leyendas"
Head west from the Larco Herrera museum to the end of Avenida Bolívar, then skirt round to the southwest of the university of La Católica campus in the suburb of San Miguel, and you'll come to the PARQUE DE LAS LEYENDAS AND THE ZOO (daily 9am-5pm; $2.50, $1.25 for students; (p. 107)
Arts and crafts (artesanía) shops in Lima
Crafts markets in Miraflores
All types of Peruvian artesanía are available in Lima, including woolen goods, crafts and gem stones. [The only thing is that in Lima they cost more than in the mountains]. Some of the best in Peru are on
-- Avenida Petit Thouars between blocks 48 and 54, home to a handful of markets between Avenida Ricardo Palma and Avenida Angamos, all well within walking distance of Miraflores centre. Artesanía Gran Chimu, Avenida Petit Thouars 5495, has a wide range of jewelery and carved wooden items, as does Mercado Artesanal [crafts market], also on Avenida Petit Thouars, at no. 5321.
Crafts market in Pueblo Libre (Avenida La Marina)
-- Another large artesanía market area can be visited easily en route to Callao or the Parque de Las Leyendas, located by the road-side blocks 6-8 of the Avenida La Marina, in Pueblo Libre. More places selling artesanía are listed below.
Slightly cheaper are the artesanía markets on blocks 9 and 10 of Avenida La Marina in Pueblo Libre and the good crafts and antiques market, which takes place every evening (6-9pm) in the Miraflores Park [Parque Kennedy] between Diagonal and Avenida Larco.
-- The Hatun Raymi Artesania Festival (late July / early August) is a great gathering of Lima-based artesanía producers; it's located on the massive esplanade of the Museo de la Nación and entry is free.
-- In Lima Centro, the Artesania Santo Domingo, at [Jirón] Jr Conde de Superunda 221-223 (a (p.118)
little square pavement area just a stone's throw from the Correo Central [main post office]), is good for beads, threads and other artesanía items.
Silverwork and jewelery in Miraflores
For jewelery, much of Avenida la Paz, in Miraflores, is dedicated to silverwork and other jewelery. In Lima Centro, Casa Wako, Jirón de la Unión 841, is probably the best place, specializing in reasonably priced Peruvian designs in gold and silver. The Plateria Pereda, Jirón Venecia 186a, Miraflores, stocks fine silver jewelery to suit most tastes, while Nasca, Avenida La Paz 522, has a nice range of offerings, much of it in silver. A relative newcomer, Joyeria Dennis [Jeweler Dennis], at Larcomar (Shop 110) offers a fine and varied selection.
Antiques in Barranco
For good-quality antiques there's Rafo, Martinez de Pinillos 1055, Barranco (T. 2470679), who have a good lunchtime restaurant too, and also Collacocha, [Jirón] C Colon 534, parallel to block 11 of Avenida Larco in Miraflores.
Some more crafts shops
Agua y Tierra
[Jirón] Diez Canseco 298, Miraflores, Lima, T. 4446980
A wide range of ethnic and traditional healing or curanderos' [healer's] artifacts.
Artesanías Killapura
[Jirón] Diez Canseco 392, Miraflores, Lima, T. 3328156
This store sells crafts and some edible produce from the Andes and Peru's Amazon tribes, as does Huayruro, more or less next door.
La Casa de Alpaca
[Jirón] La Paz 665, Miraflores, Lima
Good but expensive alpaca clothing on sale in this quality shop.
Collacocha
[Jirón] Colon 534, parallel to block 11 of Avenida Larco, Miraflores, Lima, T. 4474422
A small collection of Andean arts and crafts can be found here.
Santos Alpaca
[Avenida] Larco 859, Miraflores, Lima
Excellent quality prima cotton and alpaca products available here at quite reasonable prices (p.119)
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