03Cities and regions
The capital
Lima
Lima is Peru's capital and largest city, home to about 10 million people on a desert coast cut by the valleys of the Rímac, Chillón and Lurín rivers. The Spanish founded it in 1535 as the City of Kings, and it became the most important city in Spanish South America. Its historic centre has been on the World Heritage List since 1988, laid out around the main square with its cathedral and old palaces, with the San Francisco convent and its catacombs nearby. Most visitors stay in Miraflores, though, on the clifftops above the ocean, with its parks and the Larcomar centre. In the middle of the district rises Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid built by the Lima culture long before the Incas. Next door, Barranco has restaurants, colourful houses and evenings of live music. Lima now ranks among the world's food capitals, home to restaurants such as Central and Maido. Rain is extremely rare, but skies are grey with light drizzle from June to September. Two days is enough, best at the start or end of your trip.
- About 10.1 million
- Population
- 1535
- Founded
- 1988
- Historic centre on the World Heritage List
Highlights
- San Francisco ConventThe largest convent of its kind in the region, a survivor of many earthquakes, with old catacombs beneath.
- BarrancoThe seaside quarter of artists and writers, with restaurants and traditional music venues.