CENTRAL PERU:
Lima, the Capital:
Colonial Lima
Pachacamac
Miraflores
Gold Museum
Barranco
Shopping
Lima
Lima , City of Kings , was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 on 6 January, the Feast
of the Kings (Epiphany). It was designed to be a purely Spanish city in a conquered territory,
but it has turned out to be a rather drab and patched-together place-especially after 450 years
of earthquakes. It´s as chaotic as you might expect in a city where more people live
today than did in the whole country in 1970.
You might think the city is choking in smog, and this is certainly true.
But when you are at the seaside, most of the time you can see clouds wafting in at real
low altitudes, adding to a depressing feel of the city. It does make for a city which
is not as hot as one would expect.
Traffic is crazy, with buses competing with each other and the millions of
taxis for passengers. Respect comes with the size of the vehicle: pedestrians are low on the
food chain. People tend to drive as if they were on a mission to wear out their brakes and
refill their gas tank as soon as possible.
The city consists of a collection of distinct neighborhoods with their own
look, feel and history. Downtown Lima has some of the most impressive colonial architecture,
as this used to be the whole city in its early years.
