By air
Jorge Chávez International (LIM), ~15 km
South America · Peru
Lima, Peru
South America's food capital by the Pacific
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to April — the sunny summer
Don't miss
The Plaza Mayor
The San Francisco Monastery's catacombs
Huaca Pucllana
The Larco Museum
Things to do
A ceviche lunch
The Miraflores clifftop walk
Paragliding
The historic centre
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: JulioKuLu · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers (the winter is grey and damp)
A quieter corner
Barranco's Bridge of Sighs and bohemian lanes
Questions travellers ask
Is Lima sunny all year?
No — December to April is the sunny summer. The winter is grey and damp, so pack layers if you go then.
What should I eat in Lima?
Lima is South America's food capital, so start with a ceviche lunch, then try anticuchos, plus Nikkei and Chifa cooking.
What are the must-sees in Lima?
The Plaza Mayor, the San Francisco Monastery's catacombs, Huaca Pucllana and the Larco Museum. Explore the historic centre, take the Miraflores clifftop walk, or go paragliding.
Is there a bohemian side to Lima?
Yes — Barranco, with its Bridge of Sighs and bohemian lanes.
About Lima
- Coastal
- Desert
Where it is
Lima, the capital of Peru, spreads along the desert coast of the Pacific in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, with districts such as Miraflores and Barranco on cliffs above the ocean.
History
Long before the Spanish, peoples such as the Lima culture built adobe temples here, among them Huaca Pucllana. Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1535 as the City of Kings, it became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the chief Spanish city in South America, and its historic centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
People
Limeños speak Spanish, and migrants from Peru's highlands and Amazon have made Quechua a familiar sound in the city, while Afro-Peruvian, Chinese and Japanese communities have also shaped it. Chifa, the Chinese-Peruvian cuisine, Nikkei cooking and the Afro-Peruvian music of the cajón are part of its identity.
Known for
- Ceviche and Peruvian cuisine
- The colonial Plaza Mayor
- The San Francisco Monastery catacombs
- Paragliding off the Miraflores cliffs
- The Larco Museum's ancient treasures
Did you know?
Lima is the third-largest desert city in the world, after Karachi and Cairo, and rain is extremely rare there; from about June to September a fine morning drizzle known as the garúa falls instead.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.