"The City of Kings"

The current Capital of Peru, was founded in 1535 by conqueror Francisco Pizarro who built his palace over the old buildings of a local pre-Hispanic settlement. The downtown area of Lima was declared by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, due to the many remains of Colonial occupation under rule of Spain. It has 7 million inhabitants and is a place of big contrasts; it has luxurious districts surrounded by shanty towns. It is noisy though attractive and has the best museums in Peru.

The main attractions of Lima include:

Plaza de Armas (Main Square), where the most representative samples of colonial architecture in Lima are located: the Cathedral, the Government Palace and the City Hall; in the surroundings are also the Torre Tagle Palace and the Casa del Oidor. A city tour of Lima includes a visit to the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral and a ride towards the modern areas of Lima near the coastline.

Gold Museum; it is a private collection belonging to Mr. Miguel Mujica Gallo. The collection includes golden pieces of the different pre-Hispanic civilizations developed in Peru especially Chimu, Mochica and Nazca. There is also an interesting collection of textiles belonging to our old civilizations.

Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology; it exhibits pottery, textiles and handicrafts of most of the old Peruvian cultures, including Chavin de Huantar, Tiawanako, Paracas, Nazca, Mochica, Chimu and Inka.

Larco Herrera Museum; it is located in a Colonial House and exhibits mainly artifacts of the Mochica and Chimu civilizations, including thousands of pieces of ceramic, textiles, wood, stone etc. Over here is also the famous collection of erotic Moche pottery.

Museum of the Nation; it was open in 1990 and exhibits a chronological development of the Peruvian culture, including all of our ancient civilizations.

Amano Museum; includes a collection of mainly textiles and pottery of pre-Hispanic cultures.

Pachacamac; it is an archaeological site where there are remains of a pre-Inkan civilization and a later Inkan occupation. The buildings were made of adobe (sun-dried mud bricks) and are supposed to be remains of an important sanctuary including a Temple of the Sun and another of the Moon.