Lima :: Miraflores

Miraflores

Miraflores is the most modern one of the central districts in Lima. Its skyline along the green coast (Costa Verde) and upon the cliff is well know. It is also the tourist district of Lima and if you want to meet people from all around the world in Peru, just go to Miraflores. 

Miraflores is also the cleanest district in Lima. They even wash and brush the sidewalks on the beachside and in the parks. Miraflores is a quite European style district and its center around the city hall (Municipalidad) and the Kennedy park (Parque Kennedy) are more or less a copy of any touristic embossed city in the world. It is nice to walk around, to watch the mixture of people from around the world, but it is not the real Peru. The real Peru you can find when you leave the tourist center of Miraflores and go just two or three blocks aside. 

Historical steam tain in "Parque Reducto No. 2"

You can find lots of Peruvian handycrafts in the Artesanian markets in Av. Petit Thouars, which goes parallel to the main road Av. Arequipa directly into the center of Lima. The main road in east direction is the Av. Benavides, which passes through Santiago de Surco until it meets the Panamericana Sur. Follow Av. Benavides just five blocks and you come to a nice park called “Parque Reducto No. 2”. It is beautiful to enjoy a relaxed afternoon in the shadow of big trees, singing birds (there are almost no birds in Lima) and to see a historical steam train.

When following the Av. Larco from the Ovalo Miraflores to the ocean side, you will come directly to the unique shopping center “Larcomar”, which is built into the cliff. Nice cafes and restaurants with a fantastic view as well as a cinema and lots of shops await you there. See an other post for more information about “Larcomar” and the beach side of Miraflores.

At the beach side there are some bigger and fist class hotels. Around the Ovalo Miraflores are also some backpackers hostels with quite good prices. If you prefer to follow your own tracks it is also not too difficult to find cheap hostels (Hostal o Hospedaje) where one can get a room already for about 40 – 50 Soles (about 13 – 20 USD) in all parts of the city and even in Miraflores. This is not much more than in backpackers hostels, but gives you more privacy. 

Skyline of Miraflores at the green coast (Costa Verde)

Usually people say that Miraflores is the most secure district in Lima and thats the reason why usually all tourists prefer to stay there when coming to Lima. Well, Miraflores is surely a quite secure district with a lot of security everywhere, but it is not the only secure district in Lima. Of course, there are some spots where better not to go alone or at night, but if you follow some simple rules you won't get in trouble easily. Compared with other big cities in all parts of the world, for me Lima is one of the most secure city equal where you go. And if one gets in trouble it is mostly not because of being tourist, but Peruvians also get in trouble.

Park Kennedy in Miraflores

The main activities in Miraflores you can find around the Ovalo Miraflores and the Kennedy park. There are lots of cafes and restaurants, but mostly not typical Peruvian style. Nightlife is mostly in the so called 'Pizza street' (calle de las pizzas), which is quite easy to find and in the Calle Berlin, which is on the back exit of the Pizza street. Lots of pubs, discos and - as the name suggests – Pizzerias. There is a nice little english pub in Calle Berlin called “Houlihan's” where they also sell English and Irish beer. It is connected with a backpackers hostel. Concerning the Pizzas in Peru, Europeans should be aware that the pizzas here are not really a hit. You need some luck to find a real good Pizzeria. But it is anyway better to eat traditional Peruvian dishes and especially fish and seafood along the coast.

Most interesting in Miraflores is a walk along the seaside above the cliff or down at the beach, which was completely redesigned a few years ago. More about the beachside you can read and see in the post “Lima, Miraflores :: Memories and impressions of my first days in a new life”.

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Lima, Miraflores :: Memories and impressions of my first days in a new life

View from above the cliff

It was a step that I had in mind for many years. I guess I had it already before I started to study. One day as soon as possible I wanted to live anywhere far away from my home country. I always loved the sun, the heat of summer, the nature. It was at least only a matter of time and the commonly known “first step” to make it real. Since I had the big advantage to travel trough the world for many years in my job, I knew already a lot of countries and wonderful places. But it was some kind of a “love on the first sight” when I came to Latin America the first time. From this moment on it was clear that I want to live in a Latin country one day.

Beach walk in Miraflores with the historical Lighthouse

After lots of planning where and how, I threw it over board at least and made a more or less spontaneous decision to start my new life experiment in Peru. Why? Well, saw some good job options for me, had some contacts and never was there before. Though... I jumped into the cold water as I was used to do.

It was on a January 11^th early in the morning when I came out the international airport in Lima. I organized to get picked by a friend, but he was not yet there. I decided to leave the arrival hall to check the temperature outside. It was very nice warm, not really hot in the early morning, but it was clear that it will be the temperature I was expecting to live in.

Miraflores is like a big colorfull garden

After a little while my friend came and we drove into the city. Lima, a big city with about 9 million inhabitants. I was not sure whether I will really feel good in such a big city, because I prefer the countryside and most big cities I knew I didn't like at all. But I was in good hope for that. We came to Miraflores. “Mira means Look and “Flores” means Flowers. The district where one can look flowers and it was the very truth. One of the richest districts in Lima and the one all tourists know. Not far from the city center and at the ocean side. I had absolutely no orientation here and I was depending on the help and local knowledge of my friend. I remember it was in “Torre Tagle” street where I had organized my first room already from Germany. It was in the house of an elder lady who rented some rooms to tourists from all over the world. It was good for the first time until I knew what I to do next.

New designed parts of the beach

I just made a quick check in, threw my luggage into the room and then we went for a breakfast just a few hundred meters from the house, so that I won't get lost alone and to find some basic orientation. I bought a first map of the city and wanted to explore the near surrounding in a spiral way. It seemed not quite easy to get an orientation in that big city, but it also didn't make me nervous at all, cause my sense of orientation was always very good. Though, the first day in my new life was not very spectacular, but already quite interesting and nice. I planned my walking tour for the next day and my friend gave me some ideas where to go to see nice places.

Park of Love, Parque del Amor

Refreshed with a nice sleep and a shower after a really nice arrival day I started my exploration tour in the morning of the second day in Lima. First I tried to find the way to the coast. I was not far, only a few blocks, but needed to find the way there and to remember how to come back. And really after a few streets I was already at the cliff. Miraflores is above the cliff. It might be about 80 m on the highest point and quite impressive to look down to the ocean. Down there is passing the transit road from the San Miguel district to the district of Barranco along the green coast “Costa Verde”. Up on the cliff parks, only parks and wonderful walkways. A historical lighthouse, a paragliding start place, the Park of Love (Parque del amor) with the big and famous monument “The kiss” (El Beso). And beside all these beautiful themes a fantastic view down the cliff to the ocean and the green coast (Costa Verde). The Park of Love is called like this, because here the love carvings in trees and the love writings on walls are set as mosaics in walls.

"El Beso", The Kiss

Out on the peer one can see the well known and traditional seafood restaurant “La Rosa Nautica”. All this way goes along the upper beach road in Miraflores called “Melacon Cisneros”. It was hot and I was walking a lot already this day. I made some breaks on the way to enjoy the places, parks and views over the cliff. I decided to walk back to the room and continue my way the next day.

I was crossing a high bridge over the road that goes down to the beach road. Slowly I was wondering where this shopping center might be that my friend suggested me to visit. Anyway, it may come or not. It was just like being on vacation and I thought I may allow myself a few days of orientation before I start organizing other things. Lots of high buildings along the beach up on the cliff. I thought it might be a quite impressive view from the top on theses buildings. And while coming around the next curve I saw another park or something like this. I came closer and realized that this must be the shopping center my friend told me.

Larcomar

“LarcoMar” almost invisible from above it is a shopping center, which is in the cliff. Unbelievable and I never saw anything comparable before. It is a park on top and the center is below in the rock. It is awesome. Shops, restaurants, cinema, parking... everything in the rock. And a view, which is indescribably, over the green coast. I loved that place and it turned out that I will come back lots of times in the future.

It was the start into my new life and I felt every day a bit more alive and with a continuously growing drive. Lima became the city I love.

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	Larcomar
	Park of Love