Lima Flights & Airfare Overview
If you are just using Lima as a portal to Cuzco, your flight will most likely arrive late at night and leave for Cuzco early in the morning. You can either tough out the layover in the airport or go to a hotel for a few hours until your flight leaves.
The Miraflores district is your best bet for a reasonable rate on a room and you won't have to travel too far. Central Lima is about half an hour to 45 minutes from the airport. Be sure to be at the airport early as the flights to Cuzco are often packed and flights are often delayed to this cloudy, mountainous city.
Not to be missed regions of Peru are: Machu Picchu, and Cuzco, Peruvian Pacific Coast , and the Peruvian Andes.
Find Flights to Central & South America
Airports near Lima
Lima Description
The Incan Empire used Lima more as a storehouse than a key city, storing large quantities of gold, silver and architectural masterpieces. It was a quiet city on the shores of the Rio Rimac until the Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro christened it the City of Kings in 1535 with hopes of converting the coastal city into a proud Spanish city. They quickly stripped it of its wealth and leveled most of the Inca buildings.
In hindsight, the Inca were probably wise not to make Lima the center of their empire; since the Spanish established the capital city about 450 years ago, it has been racked by earthquakes and fires and today is a smoggy, sprawling, hectic home to nearly one third of Peru's 27 million citizens on the edge of the coastal desert.
The last 100 years have been one of political and economic crises, rising poverty and overly rapid urbanization. Lima was pounded by terrorist bombs, impoverished by hyperinflation, bombarded by immigrants from other provinces in Peru and stricken with cholera epidemic in the first half of the 1990s.
Lima is home to Peru's best museums, notably the Museo de Oro del Peru (Peruvian Gold Museum) and the Museo de la Nacin (The National Museum), which is one of the largest museums in South America. Other highlights include Lima's colonial architecture at Iglesia de San Francisco, pre-Inca pyramids at Pachacamac, and catacombs in Central Lima.
The recently renovated Plaza de Armas (or Plaza Mayor) of Lima has been the site of Peru's government center since 1535 with the Palacio de Goberno (Presidential Palace), the Archbishop's Palace, at its center. Recently, upscale restaurants and cafes have sprung up in the area right around the plaza.
The coastal suburbs of Miraflores and Barranco are popular places to stay to avoid Central Lima's smog and hectic pace. Barranco is especially popular for its nightlife and performing arts center.
Winter in Lima is from April to December when a coastal fog or gara blankets the c
