This guide is for you if Lima gets only a few hours of your trip: the morning after you land, or the afternoon before you fly on. It helps you pick the start time and the day of the week, decide whether the catacombs are for you, and know what you will and will not have time for in four hours.
Morning or afternoon
You choose between a 07:00 and a 13:00 pick-up, and the two feel different. The morning start gets you to the old centre before the city is fully on the move, and your driver orders the stops around the rush hour. The afternoon start suits a late arrival or a lazy first morning, and it ends at the coast, in Miraflores or Barranco, at around five.
From June to October, think about the light. Peru's weather service, Senamhi, describes Lima's winter as damp and grey: humidity close to 100% at night and in the early morning, mist over the coastal districts and a light drizzle the locals call garúa. On some winter days the coastal districts stay under cloud from morning to night. In the southern summer the air is much drier. If clear views over the Pacific from the clifftop matter to you, aim for those months, and in winter bring a light jacket either way.
Pick the day of the week
Huaca Pucllana is the stop the calendar affects. Its museum opens from Wednesday to Monday, which leaves Tuesday as the closed day. On a Tuesday you still see the pyramid from the street around it, but you do not go in. If the site matters more to you than the monastery, book any other day, and check the official hours before you go, because they can change.
The site also runs night visits from Wednesday to Sunday, which need booking in advance. They are not part of this tour, but they are an option for an evening of your own if you are staying in Miraflores.
What four hours covers
The day moves from the oldest part of the colonial city to the newest part of Lima, along the cliffs. Most of the time goes on the centre and the monastery. The coast comes at the end, in short stops.
The old centre
Francisco Pizarro founded Lima in the Rímac valley in January 1535, and UNESCO added its historic centre to the World Heritage list in 1988. Around the Plaza Mayor, look up. The closed wooden balconies, like boxes fixed to the façades, are what UNESCO singles out in the civil buildings of the centre.
San Francisco and the catacombs
UNESCO describes the San Francisco convent as one of the most complete colonial convent ensembles in Latin America. The crypt under it served as a cemetery for most of the colonial period and was closed to burials in 1810. Some 25,000 people were buried there, and it reopened as a museum in 1950. The monastery sells its own tickets and runs the visit. Your driver waits outside while you go in.
Huaca Pucllana
Then the drive south to Miraflores, and a different Lima. Huaca Pucllana was built by the Lima culture between about 400 and 700 AD, and later used by the Wari and the Ychsma. It is a seven-level pyramid of handmade adobe bricks, set upright in rows like books on a shelf, a pattern that has helped it stand through earthquakes for more than a thousand years. A small site museum, run by the Miraflores municipality, holds pottery and textiles found there.
The cliffs and Barranco
The last hour is the coast: the clifftop parks of Miraflores, then Barranco. Its wooden Bridge of Sighs dates from 1876. It has been closed for months at a time for repairs, so check that it is open to walkers before you plan the end of your day around it.
Two tickets to decide on
The price covers the vehicle, the driver, fuel, tolls and parking. The monastery and Huaca Pucllana are paid at the door, so carry local cash. You do not have to go into both. Some people spend the time at San Francisco on the church and cloisters and skip the catacombs. Others give Huaca Pucllana a look from outside and spend longer at the clifftop. Tell your driver in the morning, and the order changes with you.
The catacombs are a visit among human bones, underground. Think about it before you take young children down, and remember the church and cloisters above are a full visit on their own.
On your own, or with a driver
You can see Lima without us. The centre is walkable, and Miraflores and Barranco sit next to each other on the coast. The difficulty is the gap between them: the old centre and the cliffs are far apart, and the road between them is where Lima's traffic sits. In four hours, a private car is about not losing time to that crossing and not having to find a taxi between each stop. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
Who it suits, and who should look at the full day
It works well as a first look at the city, or for a short day with a flight that evening. If you are flying out, book a 07:00 start and keep the afternoon free; we also run airport transfers if you want the car to take you on to the airport.
If you have a whole day and an interest in Peru before the Spanish, choose the full-day Lima tour instead. It adds the Larco Museum and lunch in Miraflores, which four hours cannot hold. Our guide to day trips from Lima compares all five of our days out from the city.
Questions people ask
Can we finish somewhere other than the hotel?
Yes. You can end at a restaurant in Miraflores or a café in Barranco. Tell your driver where on the day.
What happens if there are more than 16 of us?
You travel in two vehicles on one booking. Message us through the contact page and we will price it.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you get a full refund. See our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Pick a day that is not a Tuesday if Huaca Pucllana matters to you, choose the morning or the afternoon, and decide which tickets you want. The stops, the pick-up area and what is included are on the private Lima city tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
