Exploring The Peruvian Capital Of Lima

Landing in Lima in the middle of the night as our first stop on our year-long Inca to Inuit adventure was an assault to the senses. After haggling a taxi in our best broken Spanglish, we arrived an hour later in Barranco. The journey took us through the industrial heart of Lima, unveiling a grey, gritty, nighttime city.

The first thing you notice upon arrival in Lima, night or day, is the cacophony of noise. Limans use car horns like the English apologise – far too liberally and most of the time with no reason. As a third of the Peruvian population lives in this sprawling city and by far the most popular mode of transport are cars and buses, the cities roads are beyond chaotic.

The Liman people were highly welcoming and embraced our broken Spanish encouraging us to speak in their native tongue. The Liman women also seem to be fond of a brunette man (Lyndsay and my friends would say brunette-come-ginger, but let’s go with brunette). For the first time in our relationship, I’m getting more attention. South American people clearly have good taste!

Lima is a mix of what I would consider old South America and new. New South American wealth has not yet filtered down so there seems to be large divide of rich and poor. Take a walk along the stunning cliffs in the Barranco and Miraflores districts and the new money could not be more evident, amazing seafront apartments adorn the cliffside. If you take a trip in towards the centre or more northernly suburbs you’ll see a much less prosperous Lima. It’s these less well tourist trodden suburbs where the best small, family run restaurants can be found. A must for the strong stomached.

Culturally, Lima is a melting pot. Over the past few decades, the draw of well-paid jobs and a better standard of living has seen many rural people move to the capital. We stayed in the Barranco district an arty suburb where food, art and nightlife take centre stage. There is clearly a lot of public money being invested into invigorating the city, billboards encouraging people to take pride in the city and work hard plaster every building and junction. There are also many publicly paid gardeners tending to public spaces, road verges and parks. Very little litter and virtually no one smoking was a welcome change to the London smoke. Dogs seem to be big business in Lima, it seems as if half the city own one. Go for a stroll during the day and you’ll find yourself dodging dog walkers and trainers who crowd the public parks, whilst the dog owners are hard at work.

Lima is undoubtedly the thriving heart of South American cuisine and rivals London standards. Restaurants like Central, the world’s 4th best restaurant are the tip of the culinary iceberg. You’ll find brilliant places to eat on virtually every street corner. Whether a well marked restaurant, family run eatery or backstreet grill you’re guaranteed to leave Lima with happy tastebuds! Going off the beaten track for a snack should certainly be encouraged for any foodie. As we discovered in Barranco, Coffee is a serious business, with young ambitious Limans setting up back street hip coffee houses with simple menu’s tending to both domestic and tourist trade. Step out into the richer suburbs and Lima is a haven for the health conscious, vegetarian, organic foodie, there is a real appetite for locally sourced, good quality inventive food.  The traditional cuisine of Peru is of course still highly prevalent. Lima’s proximity to the sea clearly influences the cities food scene with Cerviche restaurants lining every street from Barranco to Central Lima. 

Lima is the second driest city in the World, only Cairo receives less rainfall. As such expect a dry stay although be prepared for what is a fairly constantly overcast city. The beach isn’t really worth getting all that excited about, however venture a couple of KM up the shore and you’ll find some cracking surfing spots, with waves pretty much all year round. The fair weather and gentle breeze creates the perfect spot for Paragliding. Head to the headlands of Miraflores where you will find three to four Paragliding companies flying daily across the coastline and suburb of Miraflores.