Peru Adventure Blog

For a long time, tourists who visited Peru stayed in Lima because they felt they didn’t have much choice. Eager to travel to Cusco and Machu Picchu, Arequipa, Puno and Lake Titicaca, they thought Lima was just the dull capital city that was an obligation due to it being the biggest International Airport, and for no other reason.

Luckily, this misconception is seen as obsolete more and more each day. Lima has the bustling life of a major Capital city, the warmness of the Latin American culture and the food only the Gastronomic Capital of South America can offer; characteristics which will just make you fall in love with the well known City of the Kings.

Lima was founded in 1535, being the most opulent Viceroyalty and the preferred location in South America by the Spanish Crown. This helped make Peru’s capital rich in culture and history, with many places to see which date back to the past 5 centuries. Not only has Lima been successful in blending various cultures, languages and peoples; it has also allowed a mix of construction styles, which harmonize with one another, making up a 1,088.5 square mile metropolis.

Downtown Lima is where most colonial buildings and early republican buildings stand, among these edifices,  you will find many churches, leaded by the Basilica Cathedral of Lima in the Main Square. Many museums carrying unique pieces and collections are found throughout the city.

Although the city is over 470 years old, some evidences of pre-colonial peoples withstand. In many districts you will find “huacas” (worship temples from pre-Incan cultures). About 40 KM from the capital is the citadel of Pachacamac, an enormous archaeological site which lies by the Lurin river.

Nightlife in Lima is by far one of the busiest in the continent. Restaurants, coffee houses, lounges, discotheques and streets that never sleep are the vivid proof that Peru’s capital likes to enjoy itself. Restaurants come in all shapes, sizes and types. From a small “Chifa” (Peruvian – Chinese fusion) restaurant on a small street, to the finest restaurants in the country, Lima is the proud Gastronomic Capital of South America. The eagerness of a more posh lifestyle has taken the younger folk out of your typical “bar” and placed them in “lounges”, nicely decorated venues which offer drinks and appetizers, play music but seldom have dancing areas.