History:
We find in Lima some traces from the first inhabitants of the Andean territory: hunters and primitive inhabitants who fished along the coastline with harpoons 1000 years ago.

The inhabitants of the coast settled the hills and valleys until shaping worship centers and very complex buildings, which were the origin of the huge worship centers of Huacoy in Chillón, Garagay and La Florida in Rimac, Manchay in Lurín, Chancay, Supe and many other valleys in the North and South.

The conquest of the Wari culture caused the born of a Wari style ceramic and the appearance of a local one called Nieveria, which made the population developed and the culture changed. Due to the decline of the Wari culture whit its most important center Cajamarquilla, new local cultures were born. The most famous among them was Chancay, characterized by huge urban centers and a remarkable textile production, and a massive pottery. This was the background that the Incas found in the 15th century, who occupied important places as the Sanctuary of Pachacamac.  

Lima was founded on January 18th, 1535 by the conqueror Francisco Pizarro. The city of Lima reached its major splendor during the 17th century with its big buildings and palaces, the nobility luxury and wealth, which the inhabitants were proud of because it was the biggest of all the colonies.

Geography:
The geography of the department of Lima is very interesting and it is the most Andean region of the coast zone since the high Andes reach near the seashore. The mountain of Pasamayo reaches almost the 1,000 m.a.s.l., vertically above the Pacific Ocean.
The Andes rise impressively, no further than 20 or 30 km of the sea and the triangular-inclined plane shape valleys that they form with their tops embedded in the Andes, are located 40km from the seashore in few places. 

Lima has several fast-flowing rivers such us Huaura, Pativilca, Chillon, Cañete and Rimac rivers. This last one has a 160 km course and is the result from its intersection with Santa Eulalia River, near to Chosica.

We find, along the coast, a great number of islands, islets and reefs. San Lorenzo Island is the biggest and longest one among the Pacific Islands in Peru. A lot of islands such us Pachacamac, Asia and El Fronton islands are very important deposits of guano.

The coast of Lima is cloudy the most part of the year. The mist layer can measure until 15m of thickness above the beach which avoid the sun radiation comes in. The sun appears after the spring and summer seasons. The heat increases at the same time that the volume of flow of the rivers grows due to the precipitation in the Andes. During the winter, the high humidity level originates the vegetation called “Lomas” (“Hill”) as we can find in Lachay and Pasamayo.

In the department’s sea portion, there are some beautiful bays, suitable for port infrastructure, such as Cerro Azul, Chancay and Huacho ports. Also, our sea has an admirable ichthyology, different from the North and South seas.
Lima, denominated in the colonial time as the “City of Kings” by the Spanish conquerors, is nowadays the main industrial and financial center of Peru.

Tourist Description:
Today, Lima, as any metropolis in the world, gives to the tourists a great variety of attractions and the comfort expected by travelers. Lima is the scene of very important traces, as a result of 500 years of history.

We just have to think that Lima captures, from its origin, the tourist’s attention the most part of the time because its centralism out of control. Beautiful beach resorts, a huge variety of dishes, different kind of shows, everything that visitors expect and look for.

The Creole idiosyncrasy has an important place in Lima. The worldwide known religious procession of the Lord of Miracles (“Señor de los Milagros”) or “Cristo Morado de Pachacamilla” takes place in October and is the biggest faith expression. Also, we have the traditional bullfights which take place in the Plaza de Acho and the festivity of Saint Rose of Lima in August.

The city of Lima has many attractive places such as the Gold Museum, the Archeological and Antropological Museum, the local museums of Pachacamac and Puruchuco; churches and “casonas” (colonial houses) such as San Francisco, La Merced and Torre Tagle Palace; archeological sites as Pachacamac, Cajamarquilla. El Paraíso and Chilca; beautiful landscapes as the “Cañón del Infiernillo”, the “Cañón del Chillón” and the Canyon of the Cañete River; hot springs as Churin and a lot of beaches inside Metropolitan Lima.

The archeological site of Caral has been recently discovered. According to scientific prooves, the most ancient city of America dates from 2,627 and 2,100 before Christ aproximetly.
Caral has some of the biggest buildings in the Supe Valley with five level constructions and platforms bigger than two stadiums.

General Information:
Surface: 34,802 km2.
Main Resources: Cotton, maize, sugar cane, fruit trees. Lima is the first industrial center of the country.
Population: 6 732,000 inhabitants. The capital, Lima, has 340 422 inhabitants.
Provinces and districts: 10 provinces and 171 districts.
Foundation date: Founded as a department on August 4th, 1821.