PERU – CENTRAL COAST (Lima, Callao)
World Heritage Sites
Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System
Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex 5 hours north of Cusco
LIMA World Cities and Popular Towns World Capitals
Airports: Lima (LIM). Coastal Miraflores and Barranco neighborhoods, walking through the Magic Fountains at night, hiking around the Pachacamac pyramids
HISTORIC CENTRE of LIMA WHS
Plaza de Armas and the San Francisco Convent are the main attractions, and the library at Santo Domingo is impressive, Palacio de Torre Tagle or Casa de Aliaga, which are not without interest. Plaza San Martin, centered around a statue of its eponymous hero on horseback, and the Iglesia de La Merced, with its neat baroque facade. The balconies throughout the historic center are the main visual highlights. The Mestizo Baroque church portal at La Merced rivals that of San Francisco. Plus, there is a Modernist façade or two and plenty of splashes of color everywhere, as is common in colonial architecture.
Urban Legends
Barranco
Miraflores Boardwalk
Parque de la Amistad
Plaza de Armas
Puente de Piedra
History, Culture, National and City Museums
Lima Metropolitan Museum
National Museum of Peruvian Culture
Castles, Palaces, Forts
Archbishop Palace
Government Palace
Legislative Palace
Palace of Justice
Vestiges of the Past
Archaeological Complex of Pachacamac
Caral-Supe
Complejo Arqueologico Mateo Salado
Huaca Pucllana
Art Museums
Lima: Contemporary Art Museum
Lima: Lima Art Museum
Lima: Museum of Italian Art
Lima: National Museum of Archaeology
Lima: Pinacoteca Municipal Ignacio Merino
House and Biographical Museums
Lima: Casa de Aliaga
Lima: Casa Museo José Carlos Mariátegui
Lima: Casa Museo Ricardo Palma
Lima: Marina Núñez Del Prado Museum
Lima: Pedro de Osma Museum
Archaeology and Anthropology Museums
Lima: Amano Pre-Colombian Textile Museum
Lima: Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World
Lima: Larco Museum
Architectural Delights
Lima: Gran Teatro Nacional
Lima: Palacio de Torre Tagle
Lima: Presidential Palace
Lima: Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC)
Religious Temples
Lima: Church and Convent of San Francisco
Lima: La Ermita de Barranco
Lima: Las Nazarenas Church
Lima: Lima Cathedral
Lima: Our Lady of Mercy
Lima: Santa Rosa Basilica
Lima: Santo Domingo Church and Convent
Religious Monuments: Lima: Christ of the Pacific (Cristo Del Pacífico)
Natural History and Earth Museums
Lima: Andrés Del Castillo Museum
Lima: Museum of Natural History
Religious and Sacred Art Museums (including Islamic and Jewish Museums): Lima: Museum of the Inquisition
Monuments
Lima: Jose de San Martin Monument
Lima: Monumento Quiñones
Botanical Gardens: Lima: Jardín Botánico de Plantas Medicinales
Festivals: Vivo X El Rock
Zoos
Lima: Huachipa Zoological Park
Lima: Parque de las Leyendas
Beaches: Miraflores Beaches (Lima Lima and Lima Barranca)
Hospitality Legends
Lima: Bar Cordano
Lima: Bar Zela
Lima: Grand Hotel Bolivar
Malls/Department Stores
Lima: Larcomar
Lima: Plaza Lima Norte
Lima: Plaza San Miguel
Lima: Real Plaza Salaverry
Markets
Lima: Inca Market
Lima: Miraflores Indian Market
Lighthouses: Miraflores: Faro La Marina
Sports Museums: Lima: Museo Olímpico del Deporte Peruano
Aviation Museums: Lima: Museo Aeronáutico del Perú
Museums – Various
Lima: Central Reserve Bank of Peru Museum
Lima: House of Peruvian Gastronomy
Lima: House of Peruvian Literature
SACRED CITY of CARAL-SUPE WHS 5000-year-old 626-hectare archaeological site on a dry desert terrace overlooking the green valley of the Supe River. It is the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas. Exceptionally well-preserved – monumental stone and earthen platform mounts and sunken circular courts. One of 18 urban settlements situated in the same area, six large pyramidal structures. A quipu (the knot system used in Andean civilizations to record information) found on the site testifies to the development and complexity of Caral society.
The Amphitheater had remains of musical instruments (flutes)
Drive 3 hours
After visiting Caral, visit Vichama instead of going to lunch in Barranca. Vichama became the center of the Caral culture around 1800 BC, when Caral itself had declined. Vichama, on the way back to Lima along the coast, was worth visiting. Relief figures of humans, on an interior layer of one of the temples. Don’t trust Google Maps to just go to Vichama — it’ll lead you to the backside of the site — a large sandy hill. You need to search for “Centro de Visitantes Vichama”)
Buses from Lima to Barranca and/ or Supe. Cheap Hostal Los Angeles has a nice woman that runs it. Barranca use ET Valle Sagrado Caral to the entrance. Obligatory tour 1 hour
The site is perfectly set up to be visited independently with bilingual interpretation panels Only beige stone pyramids remain.
The Amphitheater Temple is the most remarkable building, with large sunken circular plazas. Huanca Pyramid and Gallery Pyramid are beautiful square-shaped stepped pyramids. Greater Pyramid is the largest, 170 x 150 metres, the low profile makes it look not that impressive. In front of the stepped pyramid is a sunken circular plaza with a diameter is 37 metres.
Half-day trip for 25 EUR. road paved and half an hour. December to May crossing the river. To the east, cross a bridge on foot, and walk 2km to the site.
The walls of the buildings were painted yellow.
Tentative WHS
Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System form Peru (RNSIIPG)
Peruvian Central Railway
Real Felipe Fortress of Callao
The Coastal Lomas System of Peru
Wineries and Vineyards for traditional Pisco Production
Islands: San Lorenzo
CALLAO
Castles, Palaces, Forts: Callao: Real Felipe Fortress
Maritime/Ship Museums
Callao: Abtao Submarine
Callao: Museo Naval de Peru
World of Nature
Lachay National Reserve
Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve
Villages and Small Towns
Antioquía
Azpitia
Huancaya
Laraos
Lunahuana
SAN VICENTE DE CANETE
BARRANCA
CHANCAY
HUACHO
HUARAL
The Casma Valley is about 5 !/2 hours north of Lima and 200 km north of Caral, the oldest civilization on the American continent. The Thirteen Towers are a cubic shape of hewn stone and mud. The first ten towers are located on the North-South axis and the last three have a change of direction towards the southwest. The height of the towers varies between 2 and 6 meters. The distance between them varies between 4.7 m and 5.1 m. Each tower has on its north and south side a recessed, narrow and steep staircase that leads to the top. During the December solstice, from an observation point west of the towers, the sunrise is observed at the top of Tower 13. Then, for the June solstice, from the same point, the sunrise is observed to the left of Tower 1, on a natural hill. It has been established that they functioned as horizon markers to view the sun from a fixed point on certain dates. They indicate with considerable precision the solstices and equinoxes, and in general mark the cyclical movement of the sun throughout the year, indicating the advanced knowledge of astronomy, for practical and ritual purposes, of the ancient Peruvians.
