LIMA, THE BEST CULINARY EXPERIENCE

Lima, the best culinary experience

The first destination for the travellers to Peru is Lima, its capital city and center of South America during the colonial times when it was called the City of Kings. Here you will discover its friendly and lively people, rich culture and superb food. Lima is a metropoli of changes, place of contrasts and show case of all Peru. Once called the Garden City, Lima is a city to love or hate, where you will find space and time for doing everything. Being a neversleeping metropoli, its nightlife is full of fun and joy, and as choices are wide, contact with nature is possible at one or two hours of distance!

One of Lima's main attractions is its delicious cooking; quality food is found everywhere and it is not necessary to only go to the most expensive restaurants to enjoy a good meal. Lima's cuisine has managed to incorporate many influences and has made many traditions of its own. Its cuisine is exemplified by a huge diversity: Native American, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Arab, African and a great variety of flavours from other parts of Peru.

With restaurants of all budgets and a wide range of cuisines -- from upscale seafood restaurants and comida criolla (coastal Peruvian cooking), to Chinese and plenty of Italian, French, and other international restaurants. Sometimes entire streets and neighborhoods specialize in a single type of food. In Lima Centro, you can visit the chifas of Chinatown, and in Miraflores, a pedestrian street off Parque Central (Boulevard San Remo) is referred to as "Little Italy" for its scores of look-alike pizzerias and Italian restaurants. Don't mind the restaurant menu hawkers; it's touristy but also lively and fun.

Miraflores is without a doubt the area with the most commercial activity and where tourists generally head to. Filled with shopping malls, cinemas, hotels, it boasts the highest concentration of cafes in Lima. Located along a sloping shoreline, its surrounding promenade leads to the beaches and parks along with the new shopping complex, Larcomar.

  

Originally, San Isidro was an upper class residential area where the scenic neighbourhoods are arranged around attractive parks of large, stately trees, such as Olivar de San Isidro, and El Club de Golf. Today the area is best described as a shopping and financial district, with elegant hotels and restaurants, where streets such as Calle Miguel Dasso provide respite from the bustle in the many cafes ideal for quiet conversation, delicatessens for a quick bite or even a Turkish bath. The Ovalo Gutiérrez district is also alive with shops, cafes, and other activities and is especially popular among those who enjoy savouring the finer foods in life.

The historic district of Barranco lies between Avenida Bolognesi and the malecón (quayside), where mid-19th century streets, parks and gardens can be enjoyed. Follow the seafront southward to the beaches lining the coast, to arrive at the Bajada de los Baños (Slopes of the Baths), a romantic location to savour typical local dishes, or enjoy a drink while gazing out over a beautiful ocean view. The Parque Municipal is found just past this area. Retaining the aristocratic airs of yesteryear, most of Barranco's cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs housed in mansions are clustered around this plaza.

You can't really go to Peru -- especially Lima -- without sitting down for an irresistibly fresh plate of ceviche, the tantalizing plate of raw fish and shellfish that's marinated in lime or lemon juice and chile peppers, and served with toasted corn, sweet potato, and raw onion. The citrus juices "cook" the fish, so it's not really raw the way sushi is. “Tiradito” The popular inventiveness came up with an idea for a dish similar to the cebiche but without the onion chips. Preparation is the same of that of the cebiche; though instead of cutting the fish into small pieces, it is cut into strips. Plenty of restaurants of all stripes -- from lowly neighborhood joints to snooty fine-dining spots popular with government bureaucrats and visiting businessmen -- offer ceviche, but you really have to go to an authentic cevichería for the true experience. In addition to Segundo Muelle and Canta Rana, others worth checking out are Alfresco, La Mar, Costanera 700, La Red, Pescados Capitales, Santo Pez, Punta Arena, El Buzo, and much more...

Cebiches & Tiraditos

SOME APPETIZERS

Causa rellena  [  Dough of yellow potato seasoned with chilli and stuffed with tuna. It can also be stuffed with chicken. Served with lettuce leaves,  olives, avocado, corn and hard-boiled egg. In some first class restaurants it is presented with pulp of crab.

Papa a la huancaina [  Boiled yellow potatoes with a hot pepper, and cheese sauce.  (It is important to mention that yellow potatoes grow only in Peru, they have an unique soft texture and flavor. The most popular potato in other countries is quite white and different texture and flavor.)

Anticuchos [ Pieces of beef heart, macerated in vinegar and spices, threaded in cane skewers. Grilled and served hot. Served with corn, yam or potato boiled with hot pepper sauce. In the popular neighborhoods its frequent to see to "anticucheras" in walking carts that prepare and sell the anticuchos outdoors also serving the Peruvian dessert " picarones ".

Conchitas a la parmesana [ large sweet sea scallops quickly broiled with a crispy topping of parmesan cheese sauce.

SOME MAIN DISHES

Lomo Saltado [ Painted hills tenderloin beef strips, wok fried with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, aji peppers and French-fried potatoes, served with rice.

Tacu Tacu [  Delicious fried pancake made of mixed white rice and mashed red beans served with tenderloin beef. In wealthier confines, these can be served with foie gras, or stuffed with a shellfish sauce.

Aji de Gallina [  A tangy creamed spiced sauce with chicken served with rice, yellow potatoes and hard-boiled eggs.

Arroz con pato [ Traditional Peruvian cilantro moisten rice and duck. This dish is also served with chicken instead of duck.

SOME DESSERTS

Suspiro de Limeña [  Typical creole dessert made with milk, eggs, sugar and port wine, covered with a meringue.

Picarones [  Sweet lumps of fried batter served with molasses.

Guargueros [  They’re made with a light sweet fried dough in tubular form, filled in at both ends with manjarblanco and sprinkled with powdered sugar.. 

Pie de Lucuma [  Pie stuffed with milk, sugar and lucuma fruit. (The Lúcuma  is a fruit native of Peru and is used in many desserts and is the favorite as ice cream.)

Mazamorra Morada [  Purple corn pudding with dry fruits. 

DRINKS

PERU is very famous because of its Pisco (grape liquor) and wine; a good alternative for your trip could be a visit to the wine cellars of Ocucaje, Tacama, La Caravedo, Vista Alegre,  and the artisan ones. In these places you will be able to learn all the process of the Pisco and the wine.

Peru’s national drink is PISCO SOUR, witch is made with PISCO, lemon, egg white and a dash of cinnamon is effectively Peru’s margarita: tasty, refresing, an ubiquitous. Pisco is also taken straight or with others combinations. Other favorite drink is “Algarrobina cocktail” which is made with Pisco, milk and the essence of the algarrobina  berry with grows in the north of Peru.

It is impossible to leave Peru and not feel nostalgic for our tasty temptations.

 Find more : http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/travel/16next.html?pagewanted=1

PERU HIGHLIGHTS

This country is supremely and exquisitely, varied, colorful and beautiful. It is also historically fascinating too, with Inca vs Spanish relics and stories all around. The ruins around Cuzco are especially well built and impressive, with massive, multi-sided 300 ton stones fitted tightly together without cement.

Landscapes range from the Amazon jungle to the Nazca desert to the altiplano [high, bleak plains] to the spectacular Andes Mountains.

Best of Peru

Machu Picchu: Wonderful Inka City , It is a full place of mystic, is a monument to the divinity, in where the man really feels like a creature of the Gods, the overwhelming look of its spirit, seems to transport it to a magical place where any thing is possible, of unimaginable way. It's the one of the more famous archaeological centers of the world, and therefore, attractive tourist one visited more of Peru.

Inca Trail: The Inca Trail is just one of innumerable footpaths that snake across the Peruvian Andes, but its climactic end point - the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu - draws trekkers from around the world. 

Lima: The first destination for the travellers to Peru is Lima, its capital city and center of South America during the colonial times when it was called the City of Kings. Lima lies on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It is a city of great cultural and ethnic diversity.  Lima is a metropoli of changes, place of contrasts and show case of all Peru. Once called the Garden City, Lima is a city where you will find space and time for doing everything. Being a neversleeping metropoli, its nightlife is full of fun and joy, and as choices are wide, offers the tourist great attractions and the comfort a traveler seeks. The rich history of the city, its beautiful beaches, great museums, and delicious cuisine are just some of the delights you can find in the "City of the Kings".

Nazca: Famous for the ancient geometric and animal designs etched into the surrounding desert plateau, Nazca is the gateway to many more mysterious pre-Inca sites and ceremonial centers.  Also is a must the visit to PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE which is home to seals, penguins, dolphin, pelicans and many other sea birds over 70 species. These spectacular islands, eroded into many caves & arches, provide shelter for thousands of seabirds & hundreds of sea-lions. Ica is also the land of wines and 'PISCO' - a drink which is very similar to a clear brandy and known as the official drink of Peru. Huacachina is built around a small natural lake in the desert. Called the "oasis of America," it serves as a resort for local families from the nearby city of Ica, and increasingly as an attraction for tourists drawn by the sports of sandboarding and taking dune buggy rides on sand dunes that stretch several hundred feet high.

arequipa & Colca Canyon:  Arequipa “The White City” is one of the prime destinations in Perú. Charming white houses and churches make of “sillar” an elegant colonial style and the view of Misti Volcano makes it unique. The beautiful Plaza de Armas, with its gardens and central fountain, is the focus of urban life and evening social activities, framed by impressive colonial arcades and architecture and the elegant white façade of the huge Cathedral. One of the city’s highlights is the remarkable Santa Catalina Convent, a complex enclosing a complete city within a city, and one of the country’s most fascinating colonial religious buildings. Near is the Wonderful Colca canyon the deepest in the world at over 1km from cliff edge to river bottom, Colca boasts some of Peru's finest Andean scenery and is the most reliable place for wild condor spotting.

Peru’s north coast is possibly the most important archaeological area in the whole of the Americas. Even though the Incas have taken the lion’s share of archaeological attention in Peru, the prior cultures of the north coast were at least as important, and survived for a much longer period of time. A visit to Chiclayo and Trujillo is an unforgettable cultural experience.

chiclayo – Sipan : Located north of Lima and Trujillo along the coast, Chiclayo is a rather bustling modern city with little to see or do in the city itself, except for its surprising Witch Market. However, it is one of the most important archaeological areas in Peru, with the very important sites of Sipán, Túcume and Sicán all close by.  The tombs of The Lord of Sipán, whose treasures astonished to the world and is considered within the 10 more important treasures discovered. His Museum is really fascinating and offers an interesting view of how the ancient Peruvians lived in those times.

Trujillo is the center of the tourist cirucuit in Northern Peru, mainly because of the large number of cultural and historical attractions, including well-preserved colonial buildings living the Plaza de Armas, the famous Marinera dance competition held every January/February, and its pleasant beaches located just 20 minutes from the town center. Trujillo is also the starting point to visit the city of Chan-Chan, the religious and administrative center of the Chimú culture and the largest mud city to have been discovered.

Chan Chan is divided into nine citadels or palaces, conforming autonomous units that extend over an area of 20 square kilometres.  the Huacas of the Sun and the Moon, buildings that were once part of the old City of Moche. The Huaca of the Moon, where astonishing murals depicting the rituals of the Moches, can be appreciated, is composed of superposed temples. Beautiful polychrome murals can be seen on its walls, whose figures include the image of the God Ai-Apaek.

TUMBES & PIURA

The most outstanding resources of the North of Peru are: its beaches, the people, nature with fauna and flora and ecological sanctuaries. The beaches of the north, with warm water and weather all year, are the best places to rest far from the city. In those beaches, you can drink coconut water or eat cebiche of black shells, delicious crayfish, squids, crabs or lobster.
The beaches of Tumbes are the best to make a submarine chase if you want to fish a jewfish of 40 Kg. But if you want to fish a marlin or a swordfish, you will do it in Cabo Blanco, a place of inspiration for Ernest Hemingway for his novel El Viejo y el Mar.

Máncora Beach: Peru's most popular surfing haven, Máncora is a groovy stopover when traveling on the north coast - equipment can be hired locally. You can find hotels with swimming pools, riding horses and many other entertainment activities in Mancora.

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