Destinations Around Lima

Stretching out along the coast in both directions, the Panamerican Highway runs the entire 2600-kilometre length of Peru, with Lima more or less at its centre. Towns along the sometimes arid coastline immediately north and south of the capital are of minor interest to most travellers, though there are some glorious beaches - with next to no restrictions on beach camping - and a very impressive ruin at Pachacamac .

The foothills above Lima contain several places of interest, not least the animistic rock outcrops of Marcahuasi , a weekend trip from the city. Lima has also traditionally been the starting point for one of the world's great train journeys, climbing high up into the Andes; fortunately, passenger services are likely to start running again in the not-too-distant future. Even without the train, the high sierra of the Andes is only a matter of hours away by comfortable bus or slightly faster colectivo. The attractive mountain towns of Huancay , Huancavelica and Tarma , all interesting destinations in their own right, are within a day's easy travelling of the capital. From these centres it is just another few hours' steep drop down the eastern slopes of the Andes into the rainforests of the upper Amazon basin and the little-visited towns of the sweltering jungle.

There are several destinations in the foothills of the Andes which are within relatively easy reach of Lima. The most spectacular include the mystical plateau of Marcahuasi , and the impressive sites of Puruchuco and Cajarmarquilla , which are typical of ruins all over Peru and make a good introduction to the country's archeology. Both Puruchuco and Cajarmarquilla lie near the beginning of the Central Highway, the road that climbs up behind Lima towards Chosica, La Oroya and the Andes. The two sites are only 6km apart and are most easily visited on a half-day guided tour from Lima. Alternatively, you could take a colectivo from Calle Montevideo (daily from 7am; $2) and return by waving down virtually any of the passing buses on the main Central Highway, though the Chosica to Lima bus will be the most likely to have spare seats.

Running on the world's highest and possibly most thrilling rail lines, the train journey from Lima into the Andes, which stopped running in 1991, has thankfully, if fitfully, restarted. The road journey is almost as spectacular, offering many travellers their first sight of llamas and of Peru's indigenous Indian mountain culture. The highest pass, at some 4843m above sea level, is also some visitors' first experience of altitude sickness, soroche, though buses and cars do the journey much quicker than the train ever did and consequently few travellers now stay at this altitude long enough to feel its effects. It usually takes around four to five hours to reach La Oroya by road; nearly all of this time is spent high in the Andes as the factories and cloudy skies of Lima are swiftly left behind. From La Oroya you have the choice of turning off north and winding through 130km or so of rather desolate landscape to Cerro de Pasco , a bleak mining town and a possible approach to Huanuco, Tingo Maria and Pucallpa in the Amazon jungle. However, most travellers head east from La Oroya to Tarma and on to the jungle region of Chanchamayo, or 100km or so south to Huancayo , through the astonishing Jauja Valley , which boasts beautiful scenery, striped by fabulous coloured furls of mountain.

Most of the better beaches within easy reach of Lima are to the south - beginning about 30km out at the hulking pre-Inca ruins of Pachacamac , a sacred citadel which still dominates this stretch of coastline. The site can easily be combined with a day at one or other of the beaches - and it's little problem to get out there from the capital. A good stopover en route to Pisco is the former plantation town and oasis of Chincha , a fertile coastal zone in ancient times as exemplified by the substantial number of pre-Inca sites in the region. To the north of Lima, the desert stretches up between the Pacific Ocean and the foothills of the Andes. There's not a huge amount of interest to the visitor here and very little in the way of tourist facilities, but it has a scattering of archeological sites, all of which are difficult to reach, plus - with easier access - some interesting eco-niches known as lomas, shrub-covered hills with their own unique climatic conditions and flora and fauna, of which the Reserva Nacional Lomas de Lachay is the best.

From here, the Panamerican Highway passes the yacht and tennis clubs that make up the fashionable beach resort of Ancón , about 30km from Lima, then crosses a high, often foggy, plateau from the Chillón to the Chancay valley . This foggy zone, still covered by sparse vegetation, was a relatively fertile lomas area (where plants grow from moisture in the air rather than rainwater or irrigation) in pre-Inca days and evidence of winter camps from five thousand years ago has been found. The highway bypasses the market town of Huaral and runs through Chancay , some 65km north of Lima, worth a visit only for its excellent cliff-top seafood restaurants, as the sea is too dangerous to swim in. Nearby the Ecotruly Ashrama, Km 63 on the Panamerican Highway, by Chacra y Mar beach (tel 444-4747 or 470-8804, isevperu@amauta.rcp.net.pe, www.vrindavan.org/trulys) is an ashram set at the foot of desert cliffs and close to the pounding ocean. They offer guided tours of their adobe huts and organic gardens, plus yoga and meditation, hikes and workshops on ecology. Always book visits in advance.

Continuing north from Chancay, the road passes through stark desert for 20km until you reach the Reserva Nacional Lomas de Lachay , a protected area of unique lomas habitat some 5000 hectares in extent and around 600m above sea-level. The easiest way to get there is with an organized tour from Lima (Overland Expeditions are experts in the area), but if you are doing it alone continue up the Panamerican Highway for about 6km beyond the turning for Sayan and Churin. The turn-off to the reserve is signposted at the top of a hill, but from the road it's still an hour's walk along a sandy track to the interpretive centre (daily 7am-7pm) at the entrance to the reserve. Run by the Ministry of Agriculture, the centre maintains the footpaths that thread through the reserve's beautiful scenery. Formed by granite and diorite rocky intrusions some seventy million years ago, the lomas - at its best between June and December when it is in full bloom - is home to more than forty types of birds including humming birds, parrots, partridges, peregrines and even condors; you also may spot various species of reptile and native deer.

A little further north of the reserve, at Km 133, a track turns off onto a small peninsula to the secluded bay of El Paraiso - a magical beach perfect for camping, swimming and scuba diving. Crossing more bleak sands, the Panamerican Highway next passes through Huacho , an unusual place with some interesting colonial architecture and a ruined church in the upper part of town. Other than turning off the Panamerican Highway to Sayan and Churin, the only town and port of Supe breaks the monotonous beauty of desert and ocean, until you reach Barrance and the labyrinthine ruins of the Fortress of Paramonga

LIMA INFO 2008
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