50 Fun Facts About Lima

Lima is the capital of which country?

Around a third of the national population lives in the metropolitan area.

Which ocean does Lima overlook?

It sits in the desert zone of the central coast, on the valleys of three rivers.

Which river flows through the city centre?

The centre sits 15 km inland on its banks; it supplies drinking water and feeds hydroelectric dams.

Which conquistador founded the city in 1535?

He had first tried to put the capital at Jauja before settling on the Rímac valley.

Under what name was Lima founded?

The foundation was decided on 6 January, the feast of the Epiphany, hence the three crowns on the coat of arms.

In coastal Quechua, the name Limaq meant what?

It referred to a famous oracle in the valley, later destroyed by the Spanish and replaced with a church.

Which seaside city holds Lima's seaport and main airport?

It is a separate Constitutional Province that forms one urban area with the capital.

Lima's international airport is named after which person?

A new terminal opened on 1 June 2025, built to handle 40 million passengers a year by 2030.

Which South American city is more populous than Lima within city limits?

Lima is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world by city-proper population.

Lima is the world's third largest desert city after Cairo and which other?

Despite the desert, the Pacific keeps temperatures between about 12 and 30 °C all year.

What do locals call the persistent winter morning drizzle?

It coats the streets from June to September and usually dries by early afternoon.

Lima's colourful summer sunsets are nicknamed the sky of what?

The sky turns orange, pink and red around 7 pm in the December-to-April summer.

Which cold current helps keep rainfall in Lima so low?

Coastal upwelling and warm air aloft create the atmospheric stability that blocks heavy rain.

Which general's arrival in 1821 led Lima to sign a Declaration of Independence?

The city council invited him in after the viceroy evacuated his army in July 1821.

Which 1824 battle decided Peru's War of Independence?

By then the city had changed hands many times and been badly impoverished.

Export income from which commodity funded Lima's expansion in the 1850s?

The state built the Central Market, the Penitentiary and the Dos de Mayo hospital on the proceeds.

Which US engineer demolished the colonial city walls in 1872?

The walls had been built in the 1680s against pirates; a gate survived until a 1879 street-vendor fire.

Which neighbouring country's army occupied Lima between 1879 and 1883?

The occupiers looted museums, libraries and schools after winning at San Juan and Miraflores.

Which 1746 disaster destroyed the port and forced a huge rebuild of Lima?

Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco led the reconstruction.

What are Lima's self-built shanty settlements called?

Andean migrants drove the population from 600,000 in 1940 to 4.8 million by 1980.

Which insurgent group, with Túpac Amaru, was centred on Lima in the 1980s?

The violence added to disorderly growth and a surge of internally displaced people.

What is the Government Palace of Peru also known as?

It stands where the residential palace of the pre-Hispanic lord Taulichusco once stood.

Which local lord held the Lima valley when the Spanish arrived?

He had been a servant of one of Emperor Huayna Capac's wives and was granted the land for his services.

Which pre-Inca pilgrimage sanctuary lies in the Lima valley?

It was built between the 3rd and 15th centuries and was still in use when the conquistadors came.

What is the Peruvian term for the ancient adobe pyramids scattered across the city?

Huallamarca, Pucllana and Mateo Salado are the best known, hemmed in by offices and apartments.

In which year was Lima's Historic Centre made a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

The listing covers the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, San Francisco and the Palacio de Torre Tagle.

Which October procession is Lima's biggest religious event?

The image leaves the Nazarenas sanctuary each year and has been the city's patron since 1715.

Which Peruvian saint is also patron of the Philippines and the Americas?

Her fellow Limeño Martín de Porres was canonised from the same 17th-century monastic city.

What is the oldest continuously operating university in the New World?

It was founded in 1551, 85 years before Harvard.

Lima's Plaza de Acho is the oldest what in the Americas?

It holds 14,000 and is the second oldest of its kind in the world; the season runs October to December.

Which racquet sport was invented in Lima?

It is similar to squash and remains a popular pastime among Limeños.

Which football club completes Lima's Big Three with Alianza and Universitario?

The three contest the Peruvian Superclásico and the Modern Classic.

What is the largest stadium in Peru?

Capacity is 80,093, making it the second largest in South America.

Lima Cricket and Football Club was the first such club on which continent?

Club de Regatas Lima, meanwhile, is the largest sports club in Peru and the oldest in the Americas.

Which multi-sport event did Lima host in 2019 and was also awarded for 2027?

The 2019 edition was the largest sporting event ever staged in Peru; Lima was later named host of the 2027 Games too.

Which Lima restaurant was named best in the world in 2023?

Maido took the same title in 2025; both sit in the city dubbed the Gastronomical Capital of the Americas.

What is Peru's national dish?

Raw fish is marinated in lime with salt, garlic, onions and hot Peruvian peppers.

What are Lima's Peruvian-Chinese restaurants called?

They cluster in Barrio chino on Calle Capón, home of the largest Chinese diaspora in Latin America.

What is the name of Lima's huge September food festival, founded in 2008?

The word means mixture in Portuguese; attendance grew from 30,000 to 600,000 by 2014.

Which district is Lima's financial centre?

Its Parque El Olivar grows olive trees imported from Spain in the 17th century.

Larcomar, the clifftop mall above the ocean, is in which district?

Nightlife in the district centres on Parque Kennedy.

Which bohemian district was home to Mario Vargas Llosa and Chabuca Granda?

Its peñas play música criolla, the traditional folk music of coastal Peru.

Which park holds the country's largest pool complex, the Magic Water Circuit?

It sits in the historic centre alongside University Park and Mariscal Castilla Park.

Which is Lima's largest single district, with about a million people?

It lies in Lima Este, the most populous of the five zones of the metropolis.

What is the tallest building in Peru, completed in 2015?

It rises 140 metres; the 30-storey Westin is the largest hotel building.

Which rapid bus system did Lima launch in 2007?

Metro Line 1 followed in 2010 after halts in the 1970s and 90s.

The Port of Chancay, opened in 2024, was built jointly with which country?

It is now Lima's main port and one of the largest in South America.

Which is Peru's oldest newspaper, founded in Lima in 1839?

The National Library was founded even earlier, in 1821.

What honorific title did Lima gain in September 1821?

It came weeks after San Martín's proclamation of independence.

The Lima coat of arms was granted in 1537 by Queen Joanna and which emperor?

The shield shows three gold crowns and a star, with the initials I and K for Ioana and Karolus.