Published on May, 2023
What an incredible tour of the historic center of Lima and the Pachacamac archeological site! I cannot speak highly enough about this tour! From start to finish, it was wonderful and packed so full of fascinating information. :)
Jonathan was the driver who picked me up from where I was staying in Miraflores and drove us to the historic center of Lima, giving us information about the different districts we passed along the way. He also later drove me out to the Pachacamac site and back to Miraflores at the end, expertly and safely navigating us through Lima’s crazy traffic.
William met us in the center of Lima and was soooo full of information and interesting details about the historic buildings and sites! This happened to be a Sunday and mass was being held in the churches that we toured through, which added a beautiful touch to these historic buildings. William explained all the different architectural styles dating back hundreds of years! It was amazing to see the colonial Baroque, Moorish, and Neoclassical styles merge throughout the various structures. My favorite part was probably the BasĂlica y Convento de San Francisco de Lima. Once again, mass was being held while we were there and it really brought the rich cultural past to the present. The convent’s architecture was gorgeous - I loved seeing the Moorish tiling and woodwork - and the artwork and the library are beautiful preservations of the time period. We also went into the catacombs which was really fascinating! :)
After lunch, I met up with Leidy and she was the one who was going to be taking me out to the Pachacamac Archeological site. Leidy is so full of interesting information! I can’t even put into words how much I learned about the various districts we went through in Lima just on the 45 minute drive out to the Pachacamac site! Once there, Leidy showed me through the Pachacamac Museum and told me all about the four cultures and took part in building up the site, from the Lima peoples to the Incas, who were in control of the area when Francisco Pizarro arrived. After the indoor portion of the museum, she walked me through the horticultural area where they grow the various types of foods that would have been grown in the Pachacamac area when people made pilgrimages to the site. As we walked through the ruins, Leidy described the uses of the various structures, the canal system that would have fed water into the different parts of the site, the unique layout of the geography around Pachacamac - she was so full of cool stories and facts and information! Once again, I don’t have enough adjectives in my head to describe what a font of information Leidy is!
The communication for pickup times was great. The whole tour from pickup to drop off was eight hours and I did so much in those eight hours! The Lima tour is quite accessible, only a few stairs and quite flat and easy to walk. The Pachacamac site has several sets of stairs and a steep hill. The site itself is massive, so we drove to each spot. The Temple of the Sun is up a big hill and very, very worth the climb. :)
Overall, the whole tour is AMAZING! I can’t recommend it highly enough! :D
Free Cancellation
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