Day 417 – Lima
Today we checked out of our hostel, 190 La Casa de Alvaro in the morning. We left our bags here as we walked to Huaca Pucllana. This ancient ruin is next to where we had dinner last night (Day 416).
Huaca Pucllana
Entrance to the site during the day is 15 PEN ($6.59 AUD) per person (p/p). At night time, it costs 17 PEN ($7.47 AUD) p/p. This includes entrance to the site, a small museum and a guide. The guide is mandatory. While we were waiting for the next tour to start, we walked around the museum, which is just one small room. There are some interesting facts about the site.
Huaca Pucllana was built between 450 CE and 650 CE by the Lima Culture (200-650 CE). It was abandoned for 100 years and the great pyramid was converted into a sacred space for the Wari culture’s elite to be buried. Then between 1100-1450 CE, the Ychsma Culture also used the site for burying people and the worship of ancestors.
The guide took us around the various buildings on the site. The main building is a massive truncated pyramid. It was really impressive to see the adobe bricks. We were able to climb to the top of the pyramid and see some of the burial sites.
Ychsma Ritual
After climbing down, we went through a small garden and then to some enclosures with llamas (I think) and guinea pigs (cuy in Spanish). There were also some Peruvian hairless dogs.
The tour lasted for an hour.
Miraflores
Afterwards, we walked back to our hostel to pick up our bags. From here we caught an Uber to another part of Miraflores. We were going to stay with some friends that we had met in Huaraz during the Santa Cruz trek.
They lived in a nice two bedroom apartment and they let us stay in one of the rooms. We went to lunch with one of them at a nice restaurant called La Lucha Sangucheria Criolla. The food was pricey but really good.
Later we went to a shopping centre called Larcomar. It’s perfectly located near the coast. The design made use of this fact. It was open roofed in certain areas. We waited until sunset before heading back to our friends place.
The other friend was back from work when we arrived, so we went to a nice seafood restaurant with them for some delicious food. The restaurant was called Miramar.