Pictures of Lima, Peru

Not exactly the prettiest place in the world, Lima is home to 8.5 million people (see Wikipedia article). Kim and I took a trip to this city in December 2008 and stayed for a month. Actually, half the time we spent in the mountains, but those pictures are posted at my Russian-language site on ultralight backpacking. If I returned to Peru, I would go straight to the mountains after only a brief stop in Lima. The air is polluted to the point of causing physical discomfort and making you just want to stay inside all day. The weather is yucky. Nonetheless, millions of people choose to live there rather than other places in Peru for material reasons.

City park with some preserved ruins of earlier town structures.

A typical central street in one of Lima's poorer districts. Streets are often clogged, and there isn't a continuous sidewalk to walk on.

Rooftop view of a poorer neighborhood of Lima.

This is what the land around Lima looks like. "Desert" is an understatement.

Beach at the south end of town.

Taking a walk around the neighborhood.

Clogged highway in the center of Lima.

This cemented-in drainage reminded me of Southern California "rivers."

Downtown Lima is actually quite nice in places.

Pizarro statue in Lima.

Slums creeping up hills. The view is nicer, but the walk to work (or anywhere else) is longer.

Central Lima.

A typical ambivalent tourist, I didn't care to learn the names of these sights.

Hm... a fountain and a cathedral. Kind of like taking a picture of the White House and writing the caption, "some administrative building."

One of the main shopping drags.

Yes, a nice old white building.

City park.

This looks like some kind of central square.

Hare Krishnas.

Some rare trees. Lima gets under an inch of rain a year.

I'm guessing this is a Catholic church.

A church holding some sort of revival concert in the middle of the street late at night.

At the park with fountains in the middle of Lima.