Huaca Pucllana

Huaca Pucllana is a remarkable pre-Inca adobe pyramid sitting right in the middle of Lima's upscale Miraflores district, a great stepped mound of millions of hand-made mud bricks, built over 1,500 years ago and rising incongruously among modern apartment blocks. Guided tours (the only way to visit) lead up and around the structure, explaining the ceremonial and administrative role it played for the Lima culture, with reconstructed huts, llamas, and crops illustrating ancient life.

The site is especially atmospheric in the evening, when it's floodlit, and there's an acclaimed restaurant on the grounds overlooking the lit pyramid, a memorable place for dinner with a 1,500-year-old monument as your view. It's a fascinating, easily-reached glimpse of ancient Peru without leaving the city.

Da non perdere

• A 1,500-year-old adobe pyramid amid modern Miraflores
• Guided tours explaining the Lima culture
• Reconstructed ancient huts, crops, and resident llamas
• The floodlit pyramid by night
• The on-site restaurant overlooking the lit ruins

Biglietti e tour

Modi per visitare Huaca Pucllana

Ideale per

Come lo valutano i viaggiatori

Come arrivare

Da sapere prima di andare

• Visits are by guided tour only, check tour times and language before going.
• Evening tours show the pyramid floodlit and are especially atmospheric.
• The on-site restaurant overlooking the ruins is excellent, book ahead for an evening table.
• Wear closed shoes; the adobe paths are uneven.

Un po' di storia

Built by the Lima culture around 400–700 AD as a ceremonial and administrative centre, Huaca Pucllana was later used by the Wari and Ychsma cultures. Long encroached upon by the growing city, it has been protected and excavated since the 1980s, revealing its adobe construction and artefacts.