Museo Rafael Larco Herrera, Lima

The 18th century colonial-style museum houses the largest and most impressive ceramic collection in the world, with about 55,000 pre-Colombian clay pots on display. The collection concentrates on the refined ceramics of the Moche Dynasty, the people who lived along the northern coast of Peru between 200 and 700 AD. The Moche culture is recognized as accomplishing one of the greatest imaginative languages of ancient Peru through the use of creative pottery, providing clues to all aspects of their civilization without the use of the written word. One can learn about their religion, agriculture, transport, dance and music through their ceramic designs and shapes. The Moche are also renowned for their fascinating erotic pottery and the famous collection is on display in the separate 'Erotic Hall', depicting sexual practices of several Peruvian cultures in a lifelike, explicit and often humorous way.

Getting There:
Take a minibus to the Avenida Brasil and then another to Avenida Bolivar

Opening Times:
Daily 9am-6pm.

Admission:
Adults PEN 30, concessions available

Museo de Oro del Peru (Gold Museum), Lima

Housed in a fortress-like building are the safe-rooms crammed with treasures from the Inca civilisation and their predecessors. The massive collection of gleaming gold, ceremonial objects and jewellery compete for attention, and the famous golden Tumi, the symbol of Peru, has been exhibited around the world. The rest of the museum is just as interesting with thousands of exquisite tapestries, pre-Incan weapons and wooden staffs, masks, mummies, and clothing. There is also a vast display of antique weapons and uniforms, a reminder of Peru's violent past.

Getting There:
Bus from corner of Avenida Javier Prado and Avenida Aviacion to Avenida Angamos, change to bus marked 'Universidad de Lima'. Ask to be let off at the Museo de Oro.

Opening Times:
Daily 11:30am-7pm.

Admission:
PEN 33 adults, PEN 16 children under 11.

Museo de la Nación (National Museum), Lima

The superb anthropological and archaeological National Museum contains excellent exhibits tracing the history of Peru's ancient civilisations and provides an outstanding overview of the archaeological richness of the country. It is the city's largest and the country's most important museum and the chronological layout guides visitors easily through the complicated ancient history, highlighting the many conquering cultures and their achievements, from the art and history of the original inhabitants to the Inca Empire.

Getting There:
Bus marked Javier Prado/Aviacion or taxi from Lima Centro or Miraflores

Opening Times:
Tuesday to Sunday 9am-6pm.

Admission:
PEN 6 (adult), PEN 1 (child). Concessions available.

Plaza Mayor and Plaza San Martin, Lima

A long pedestrian street crowded with shoppers, vendors and sightseers connects Lima's two main plazas to each other. The heart of the old town is centred on the striking Plaza Mayor, or Plaza de Armas, gracefully colonial with its bronze fountain and old street lamps. It was once the central marketplace, where bullfights were held during Spanish rule. Surrounding the square are several notable buildings, including the grand Spanish Baroque Cathedral, occupying the site of an ancient Inca temple and housing the Museum of Religious Art and Treasures; the impressive Government Palace where the changing of the guard takes place; the Town Hall; and the Archbishop's Palace sporting a beautiful wooden balcony. The Plaza San Martin is an impressive square with a hive of activity surrounding its central fountains; a busy area of shoe-shiners, soapbox speakers, street artists and the site for political rallies and rioting workers.

Getting There:
Buses marked Avenida Tacna go to within a few blocks of either square

The Nazca Lines, Lima

Nazca is a small desert town, named for the Nazca civilisation that came after the Paracas culture, and it is a major attraction due to the mysterious presence of the lines and diagrams etched into the surrounding desert floor. It also has some interesting museums and archaeological sites, including the Chauchilla Cemetery, with 12 exposed underground tombs containing skeletons and preserved mummified forms. The main attraction of the town is an aerial flight over the Nazca Lines that are spread over miles of the vast desert floor. The dimensions of these enormous figures, geometric designs, spirals and perfectly straight lines are so large that the only way to view them is from the air and pilots will point out the outlines of intriguing bird and animal representations such as the hummingbird, monkey, condor, spider, and the unusual cartoon-like character known as the Astronaut. These figures were made by removing sun-darkened stones from the desert floor to expose the lighter coloured stones below, and were created over a thousand years ago. Theories abound regarding the mysterious desert etchings, and questions as to why they were created, how they were designed and what technology was used, remain unanswered and have puzzled experts for centuries. The Nazca Lines are among the most unforgettable and strangest sights in the country, an extraordinary legacy left by the ancient people of the Nazca culture, and one of the great mysteries of South America.

Getting There:
Ormeño and Civa are the best bus companies with offices in Nazca.

Pisco, Lima

Pisco is a small port and fishing village, best known for its fiery white grape brandy of the same name. It also boasts the origins of one of the major ancient civilisations in Peru, the Paracas culture, who left an astounding collection of antiquities that are displayed in the museums of Lima. The area is primarily visited as a base to see the wildlife of the nearby Paracas National Reserve, home to an incredible variety and huge concentration of marine animals and birds. Locals proudly proclaim it to be the 'Peruvian Galapagos', and the main focus of a visit to the reserve is a boat tour of the Ballestas Islands. The islands are off limits to people but the boat tours afford spectacular close up views of the wildlife. The rocks are alive with thousands of migratory and resident sea birds, including pelicans, flamingos, penguins, cormorants, red boobies and terns. Huge colonies of barking sea lions line the shores, and turtles, dolphins and sometimes whales are seen in the surrounding waters. En route to the islands boats pass the famous Candelabra, a gigantic trident-shaped drawing etched into the sandstone cliffs overlooking the bay, and like the drawings at Nazca, its origins remain a mystery.

Getting There:
Many buses serve Pisco from Lima. A good option is Ormeno

Church of San Francisco, Lima

The most spectacular of Lima's colonial churches, San Francisco is a striking white and yellow building with twin towers and a stone façade. It was one of the few buildings to survive the devastation of the 1746 earthquake and is famous for its underground catacombs that contain the bones and skulls of an estimated 70,000 people. The interior of the church has arches and columns decorated with beautiful mosaic tiles and an exquisitely carved Moorish-style wooden ceiling above the staircase leading to the cloisters. The church also contains a superb 17th-century library with thousands of antique texts and a room containing painted masterpieces by Reubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens.

Opening Times:
Daily 9:30am-5:45pm.

Admission:
PEN 5. concessions available