The Promenade of the Naval Heroes (Paseo de los Héroes Navales) is located a few blocks south of Plaza San Martín in the UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center of Lima. It’s a long park filled with sculptures, bushes, and flowers.
The capital of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Viceroyalty of Peru couldn’t have a grander plaza than Plaza Mayor in Lima. With its trademark yellow buildings, balconies, cathedral, and presidential palace, there may not be a finer example of a Spanish plaza in the world. The plaza is fitting for Lima’s nickname, “The City of Kings”.
San Francisco Convent (Convento de San Francisco) is one of the most important and most visited monasteries and churches in Lima. It was built in 1557 and rebuilt in 1672 after an earthquake, and was finally completed in 1774.
The historic center of Lima has some beautiful colonial churches dating from the 16th century. They’re included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the city.
The UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center of Lima has several of interesting sites, beautiful architecture, and plazas. Unfortunately, many of the buildings were closed because my visit fell on Peru’s Independence Day. The city center is easily accessible via the Lima Metropolitano.
Plaza San Martín opened on July 28, 1921, the 100th anniversary of Peru’s independence. It’s located within Lima’s UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center.
I had plenty of time to kill in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Potosí while trying to figure out how to break the roadblock to Uyuni. I decided to go on a silver mine tour and found a street with a few tour offices.
When my bus to Uyuni was cancelled because of a protest and roadblock, I decided to hop on another bus to Potosí. It was once the richest city in the world because of its silver mines and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. I went to the La Paz bus station and stopped at four or five different companies before I found Trans Copacabana, who offered a cama, or reclining bed, for the 10 hour overnight trip. My goal was to see as much of Potosí as possible and find a way to break the roadblock and get to Uyuni.
Bolivia’s most important archaeological site, Tiwanaku, lies just a couple hours away from La Paz. Located in the modern town of Tiahuanaco, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site that was the capital of a Pre-Columbian empire from about 300 to 1000. The original name of the city has been lost because the inhabitants had no written language. The ruins are still being excavated.
On the hills just above the city of Cusco are the Inca ruins of Saqsayhuamán (pronounced by some tourists as “sexy woman”).