Lima, City of Kings

When the conqueror Francisco Pizarro was assigned the task of choosing the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty, he took into account that this capital had to be close to the sea. And so he decided on a beautiful valley next to the Rímac River, where he finally founded the city of Lima, a fact that became official on January 18, 1535. According to historians, this date coincides with the month of the descent of the wise men, and for this reason Pizarro baptized it as the "City of Kings". 486 years have passed and, since then, Lima has changed a lot from a territorial, demographic and cultural point of view. Despite these transformations, Lima still has natural spaces that deserve to be preserved, since they are the lungs of a city of a thousand faces that today houses more than 10 million people.

City of Lima, Miraflores

Lima is the capital city of the Republic of Peru. It is located on the central coast of the country, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, forming an extensive and populous urban area known as Metropolitan Lima, flanked by the coastal desert and extending over the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. According to the 2017 National Census, the department with the largest population in the country is Lima, with a total of 9,485,405 inhabitants.

Today it is considered the political, financial and commercial center of the country. Internationally, the city ranks fifth among the most populous cities in Latin America and is one of the thirty most populous urban agglomerations in the world. Due to its geostrategic importance, it has been defined as a “beta class” global city.

The largest community in Latin America

Currently, more than a million people of Chinese descent live in Peru and about 200 thousand in Lima. It is the largest colony that the Asian country has in the world. They came to work three generations ago when the abolition of slavery left a gap in the workforce. Lima's Chinatown, located in the center of the capital, is a busy commercial area with markets, shops and chifas - oriental fusion restaurants - of delicious food that Peruvians have come to love.

Lima (which comes from Quechua Limaq) is the capital of Peru. It is located on the central coast of the country, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, flanked by the coastal desert and extending over the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. It was founded on January 18, 1535 with the name "The City of the Kings" in the agricultural region that until then was known by the indigenous people as Limaq.

Lima was the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the largest and most important city in South America during the Spanish regime; after Independence, it became the capital of the Republic.

Due to its expansion and populous urban area, today it is called Metropolitan Lima, and has a population of more than 9 million 320 thousand inhabitants, who represent 30% of the Peruvian population. This figure has made it the most populous city in the country, the fifth in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the thirty most populous urban agglomerations in the world. Likewise, Lima is considered the commercial, financial, cultural and political center of the country.

Jurisdictionally, the metropolis extends mainly within the province of Lima and in a smaller portion, to the west, within the Constitutional province of Callao, where the seaport and the Jorge Chávez International Airport are located. Both provinces have regional autonomy since 2002.

Historical center of lima

The lineage of a capital with tradition
One of the main attractions of the oldest cities throughout the world is the visit to its Historic Center. And that of the majestic city of Lima could not be the exception: in the streets, churches and buildings, you can take a leap and visit the past in the first person. As if it were a time machine to which you go to see the old Lima, the one that keeps its colonial touch until today.

Being the only capital in South America with access to the Pacific Ocean has its appeal: on the cliffs of the Costa Verde you can see a modern Lima, which is at the forefront just like the most important cities on the globe. But if you want to connect with historic Lima, a visit to the city center is essential.

Tour with horses in the center of Lima

Miraflores and Costa Verde

window to the pacific
Lima is the only South American capital facing the sea and the Miraflores neighborhood does know how to take advantage of it; especially when the Costa Verde crosses under its cliffs, bringing tourists closer to the waves and a gastronomic offer that includes à la carte sunsets.

Miraflores combines this magical proximity to the Pacific with its mansions of yesteryear, which survive interspersed with modern buildings and archaeological sites, and a privileged boardwalk: here you can find everything from an exclusive shopping center to beautiful parks and dozens of paragliders playing with the wind. Just beautiful.

Larco Museum

Appointment with 5000 years of history
Surrounded by beautiful gardens, an 18th-century viceregal mansion houses an impressive private collection of pieces from pre-Columbian Peru. Within the permanent exhibition of the museum, the Gold and Jewelry Room stands out with wonderful pieces made by virtuous goldsmiths of ancient Peru to honor their gods. No less attention is captured by the erotic huacos room, which shows us his interesting vision of sexuality. Definitely, visiting the Larco museum is connecting and reconnecting with the Andean worldview.

General information:

Price	Weather	Hours	Altitude
- Adults: S/30 - Over 65: S/25 - Students: S/15	mín. 17,3 ℃/ máx.: 21,5 ℃	10:00 hrs a 19:00 hrs	82 m s. n. m.

Larco Herrera Museum, Lima

Museums in Lima

Meeting point for connoisseurs and cosmopolitans
The best way to understand the history of Peru is by visiting the Museums of Lima. In them the greatest cultural heritage of the country is preserved. Some of the best collections from the pre-Hispanic era are held by the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, the Larco Museum and the Amano Museum; the Lima Art Museum (MALI) summarizes all the artistic manifestations in the country; and the MAC and the MATE (which exhibits the work of Peruvian photographer Mario Testino) are excellent options for modern art. Simply unmissable.

1. Lima Anniversary

Date: January 18

Lima is Peru's capital. This date of foundation is January 18, when back in 1535 it was founded by the conqueror Francisco Pizarro. This is a very important event for the inhabitants of the region since there are many activities that are scheduled for that date in addition to the days that precede it. Program that changes according to the ruler in charge, but that essentially preserves the spirit of all Lima.

The celebrations for the anniversary of the Capital begin with different cultural activities, including conferences whose reason varies each year. In addition to this, the presence of an impressive Serenade through Lima has become a tradition, which takes place in the Plaza de Armas and in which the musical talents of people from our country are exhibited, who express their music of modern genres and traditional.

It is also common for these celebrations the organization of different parades, in these the color of the traditional dances of Lima is exposed, where the presence of the marinera is inevitable, tonderos, festivities and skirts are also seen.

In addition, there are the inevitable gastronomic fairs where the delicacies and wide variety of local cuisine are exhibited and made available to the consumer. Main dishes such as rice with chicken or duck, salted loin, stuffed cause, among many others, are accompanied by exquisite desserts such as purple mazamorra, sigh a la Lima and others to entertain the stomach of our visitors.

2. Santa Rosa de Lima

Date: August 30

Santa Rosa de Lima is the patron saint of the Americas and the Philippines, protector in addition to the National Police of our country, whose date of celebrations is presented as the central day on August 30.

It tells the story of this Saint, whose real name was Isabel Flores de Oliva, who was born in 1586 and lived a life full of extraordinary events. Among them the miracle of the roses that she gave him her name since, it is said that at that time in Lima these types of plants were not cultivated and that she was miraculously in the garden of her house where these flowers spontaneously arose. Another reason that characterizes roses as a symbol of the Saint is the miracle by which Pope Clement IX canonized her since, it is said, at the moment in which he doubted the sanctity of Lima, it rained roses on his desk, which is why the Supreme Pontiff later made many provisions in her honor, even though it was his successor Clement X who finally managed to canonize her.

For the celebrations in commemoration of this Saint, pilgrimages are carried out to her temple. In this, the practice of a traditional act is carried out, which is to deposit a letter in the so-called "Wishing Well" since it is said that what one asks of the Saint will come true if it is requested with great fervor. .

3. National Peruvian Paso Horse Contest

Date: April

The National Peruvian Paso Horse Contest is an event that takes place in Mamacona, which is located in the district of Lurín within the province and region of Lima.

The contest has completed its XLVI presentation for 2011, which takes place between the months of March or April and lasts a week.

The Contest summons hundreds of lovers of these equines, such is the degree of reception that this contest presents that there are more than 700 animals that are presented in this National competition, and that they are the representation of the best horses of this breed that They are natives of the country, but they are raised both nationally and in neighboring countries of Bolivia, Ecuador and other Central American states.

At present, the importance of this contest is such that the Mamacona Exhibition Hall has been created within the Mamacona Estate, which is the first museum in honor of this aboriginal species and which has emerged thanks to the collaboration of those interested. On the last day of the celebrations, the winners of the different categories that exist are awarded within the establishment, among which the following can be recognized:

• “Master Bracer”
• Trial for Minors from 10 to 12 years old with the subdivision of boys and girls
• Award for Best Filly Presented to Halter
• Female Muzzle Champion
• Flats Award for Mares
• Mother's Progeny Award
• Mother and Daughter Award
• Mares Joint Award
• Female Zootechnical Merit Award
• Category of Halter Foals
• Category of Muzzle Foals
• Hobby Award, among others.

Day of the Creole song

Date: October 31
The day of the Creole song is celebrated every year on October 31, this date was established within the calendar of Peruvian festivities during the government of Manuel Prado y Ugarteche in the forties.

The Creole song and its interpreters, who are honored on this date, have an important history that presents its peak period in the twenties and whose members have been called "the old guard".

The Old Guard includes the classics of criollismo, among which José Sabas Libornio-Ibarra, Juan Peña Lobatón, Julio Flores, Óscar Molina, among others, stand out. And who would be followed by important performers and composers from the thirties to forties with a great influence from Felipe Pinglo who left in the memory of Peruvian music beautiful compositions such as “El plebeyo”, “El Huerto de mi amada” , "The mirror of my life" and that would give rise to the expansion of the popularity of this type of music sung and created by voices such as those of Jesús Vásquez, Lucha Reyes, Oscar Avilés, Luis Abanto Morales or the remembered and great Chabuca Granda .

The Celebrations that take place in current times for the Day of the Creole Song are mainly concentrated in the different Creole clubs that are celebrated throughout the country and especially in the capital. Or also thanks to serenades and concerts organized either by the authorities of each of the districts, or by individuals who are followers of this important celebration.

National Pisco Sour Day

Date: first Saturday of February
The pisco sour has become in recent years the flagship drink of Peru, it is an exquisite drink based on pisco from the lands of Ica that is also gaining more strength and recognition abroad. Due to these attributes, the State has recognized a National Pisco Sour Day as a tribute to this exquisite drink and whose central date is the first Saturday of February and has been celebrated since 2004.

Pisco Sour

Salthough pisco is a traditional drink that originates in the Ica region, it is Lima and its different districts where this celebration gains more strength, being one of the districts selected as the official venue each year of celebration.

Each district presents a different way of celebrating this day, for example, in Barranco, the main activities take place in the Museum of Contemporary Art where the exhibition and sale of this Peruvian liquor takes place.

In other districts such as Pueblo Libre, different artistic shows are also held to liven up the day, including dance competitions, along with barman competitions, in addition to the obligatory sale of this liquor along with typical dishes of the area.