What? Does it never rain in Lima? A city close to the ocean? Or is it just a phrase? Let’s take the statement as a cliffhanger that you read the whole article 🙂
Before heading to Cusco for the ultimate Inka Experience, I had four days in Lima, the capital of Peru. And I am amazed. In regards to big cities, that is the (so far) most beautiful I have seen on my world trip. It is clean, it is green, the people are friendly, you always feel safe, the food is good, and and and… If you have the chance, visit Lima!
First of all, Lima is a foodie’s paradise! The city has a diverse culinary scene, with restaurants serving everything from traditional Peruvian dishes to international cuisine. Lima has also been named the “World’s Culinary Capital” by World Travel Awards several times.
Due to that, I took a food tour. I booked on concise notice on getyourguide.de for ~80 Euro. In 4 hours, we hoped fast from location to location, trying local food and gaining some info about Peru in general.
#1 Local Fruits and Chocolate
#2 Coffee and Chicken Empanada
#3 Beef Heart Stick
#4 Lomo Saltado (Peruvian Stir-Fried Beef With Onion, Tomatoes, and French Fries)
#5 Appetizer out of mashed sweet potato and toppings (crab and ceviche)
#6 Chica Morda
Juice out of the pink corn (that’s where the color is coming from) mixed with Cinnamon, Ginger, Pineapple, and Apple)
#Ceviche
Ceviche, cebiche, cebiche, or seviche is a dish of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. In my case, it was truly spice. Unfortunately, my Chica Morda was already empty 🙁
#Pisco Sour
The drink’s name comes from pisco, its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, about sour citrus juice and sweetener components.
#Ice Cream
The food tour took place in a district called Barranco. It’s beautiful and colorful. But for the locals, it is also the most expensive one.
Have you seen the black sculpture in the pictures of Barranco? It’s a vulture, and surprisingly, not just art. Instead of pigeons, they do have vultures in the city.
Vultures play an essential role in the ecosystem by helping clean up dead animals and preventing disease spread. They are also a popular tourist attraction in Lima, and many visitors enjoy seeing these majestic birds soaring overhead.
In addition to the above reasons, the Peruvian government has also taken steps to protect and encourage vultures to live in Lima. In 2014, the government launched a program to equip vultures with GPS and GoPro cameras to track their movements and identify areas of the city where garbage is accumulating. This information is then used to improve waste management and public awareness about the importance of recycling.
As a result of these efforts, the vulture population in Lima has been increasing in recent years. Vultures are now common in the city and play an essential role in keeping Lima clean and healthy. Smart move, Lima, smart move!
I saw them mainly in the historical city of Lima. A very overcrowded, very touristic area of the town… I wouldn’t say I liked it there…
Another animal story from Lima: The “Kennedy Park” was unofficially renamed into “Cat Park” as hundreds of cats lived there. The stories of why they do it are all not proven. Maybe it is just because they get food there…
Coming closer to the rain-story, we must see that Lima is next to the Pacific.
As you can see, Lima is higher than the Pacific. 25 years ago, the cliff was going directly into the water, no streets, no lands, no beaches. While building roads and tunnels in Lima, a lot of stones, sand, and other leftovers have been just thrown off the cliff, and by that, enough space was created for streets and small beaches. Again, well done, Lima!
Finally coming to the rain-story. Lima is one of the driest cities in the world (2nd after Kairo), with an annual average rainfall of just 15 millimeters (0.59 inches). It rarely rains in Lima; when it does, it is usually just a light drizzle. The last time Lima had significant rainfall was in 2017 when heavy rains caused flooding and landslides. There are two factors:
- The cold Humboldt Current flowing northward along Peru’s coast prevents ocean evaporation.
- The Andes Mountains block rain-laden clouds from the Amazon rainforest.
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