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Day
15 (September 8, 2025) Lima
Before
On our last day in Peru, our flight home departs at 6:10 PM, leaving us
the morning for any remaining sightseeing in Lima. We've mostly planned
to explore the historic center of the capital, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, this day.
The spots marked on the map are:
1- Lima Cathedral
2- City Hall
3- Aliaga House
4- San Francisco Monastery
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After
We
get up early again, probably for the last time, and go downstairs for
breakfast shortly after they open. So at 8:30 AM we have the
Uber that takes us to the Main Square (Plaza Mayor) of Lima for nearly 30 soles. Actually, it
drops us a couple of blocks before the square because traffic is
restricted on its periphery.
We walk straight to the Monastery of San Francisco and, when we have
its
facade in sight, after going around the fences that hide the
construction work
it is undergoing, on the left there is a door to visit the
catacombs.
No one can visit the catacombs on their
own: you have to go with a guide, so we have to wait for
the next one to come pick us up. We pay 20 soles for it. This
entrance where we wait is full of signs pointing to no
photos or videos are allowed, and I guess the guide will also make sure
that is respected.
The tour lasts about 40 minutes, in an itinerary that begins admiring the art of that area of the monastery
and ends at the ossuary, the most popular place pointed out by those images of a
well full of bones and skulls. However, the place is far from
having just one well, rather, we go through several rooms full of
containers filled with human remains. This is coming from the lack of
cemeteries at that time and the people's preference for resting in holy ground.
Back on the streeet we get into the beautiful basilica of the monastery, whose
entrance is
free, and which we had already partially seen through holes in
the ceiling of the catacombs.
Now it is indeed time to go
to Plaza Mayor, which we find completely fenced off, so that
we can only walk along some of its sides.
 
Fortunately, that does not affect the entrance to the Cathedral where,
for a change, they do allow photos. Although you have to pay an
entrance fee of 30 soles for foreigners.
The cathedral is very spacious, enough so that we have to ask where
the tomb of Francisco Pizarro is.
There is an enclosure dedicated to that tomb where, besides the urn
with the remains, there is also detailed information about the wounds
that caused his death. It is also the area of the cathedral where the
most people gather.
When we finish is around 11 AM and we leave the restricted area to
call the Uber back to the hotel. Back in Miraflores the idea is to
finally visit the archaeological site Huaca Pucllana and eat right
after. We head to the entrance and we can even book a table at the
award-winning restaurant, with the same name as the ruins, we looked for
yesterday.
We pay 15 soles per person and enter just to wait for the next tour.
There are several benches in the area in front of the entrance of the
small exhibition about the pre-Inca civilization that created and
inhabited this place, and that gives its name to the city: the lima.
A few minutes past 12 PM the guide comes to lead us on a circuit through
these ruins, which starts below, but in which we go up to the top, with
good views of the neighborhood.
Along the way we have passed by several tombs with examples
of how this civilization treated their deceased.
The way back down is done on the other side, where we pass by figures
recreating everyday situations of the Lima culture.
On the way to the exit we pass by plantations of typical vegetation of
this area with some animals. Before reaching this area we have been
able to see inside the restaurant where we are going to eat as soon as
we leave.
The tour lasted about an hour, so we are already eating by 1:30 PM.
Creamy shrimp rice Creole style for Eva and paiche in Amazonian curry
sauce for me. With some snacks and drinks, we pay about €90 in
total.
From there we follow the script for the return home: we check out
of the hotel, order an Uber that pick us up at 2:30 PM and drop
us off at the airport in 45 minutes for 54 soles, we check our
luggage and kill time looking at shops in the boarding gate area.
Along the way, we reminisced
about our experiences and the variety of landscapes. We both agreed
that we enjoyed everything, but what we enjoyed most were the days in
the Amazon.
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