June is the busiest month in Cusco. It’s also the busiest month in Lima too. And that’s because most tourist visit Lima on their way to Cusco.
Peak tourist season in Peru runs from June to August. With the absolute peak being late June to early July. During the winter, blue skies are the norm in the Andes. But grey skies, thick fog and cold temperatures with high humidity, are the norm in Lima during winter.
June is the best month of the year to visit Cusco. It’s not the best month of the year to visit Lima. December is the best month of the year to visit Lima. June through August is the worst possible time of year, to visit any of the coastal attractions in Peru.
Yet, with that said, I’m a expat Australian living full-time in Lima. And while I often choose to travel out of Lima during the June to August peak tourist season, that doesn’t mean you should skip visiting Lima altogether.
There are certain attractions in Lima that you must see before visiting Cusco and Machu Picchu. They’re attractions that you need to see to be able to fully appreciate what you’re looking at in those other destinations. And in this article, I’m going to focus on those places in Lima that you should visit, even in June, before flying onwards to Cusco.
Lima Peru in Winter
Weather in Lima during winter
If you’re expecting beautiful ocean views combined with warm and sunny weather in Lima during winter (May to November), you’re going to be in for a rude shock. Winter in Lima is cold, the skies are permanently grey, there’s often a thick fog blanketing the city and the humidity is very high.
The Humboldt Current that’s responsible for the abundant seafood on offer in Peru, is also what controls Lima’s climate. And during winter in Lima you’ll be layered up as much, if not more, than you will be when you get to Cusco.
Lima in June through to August will feel colder during the day, than Cusco. And this is because of the breeze coming in from the ocean combined with the lack of sunlight and very high humidity. Lima in winter has an average humidity of 85%. Which makes everything feel so much colder than you’d expect from the average temperature of 14°C (57°F).
Attractions you must visit in Lima before visiting Cusco!
In winter, a lot of the often suggested tourist attractions like visiting the beach, paragliding, learning to surf or dining outdoors, will be a less than fun experience. Basically, anything outdoors in Lima is going to be cold and grey in winter.
During June through to August in Lima, you definitely don’t want to be going near the ocean. You can still try Peru’s famed ceviche overlooking the water in Larcomar. Although, it too will be cold and grey, with limited visibility, in winter.
During winter in Lima, you’re better off focusing on Lima’s many museums during the day, and trying Peru’s world renowned cuisine at night. Indoor activities are the order of the day, during winter.
Now, if you’re coming to Peru during the peak winter season, your primary destinations are obviously Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Andes region. Winter is the best time of the year to visit the Peruvian Andes.
When you get to Cusco, you’re going to hear a lot about the Inca civilization and what occured under Spanish rule during the colonial era. But, to fully appreciate the legacy of the Incas and to understand what you’re looking at, you need to first understand Peru. And to do that, you need to visit the places in Lima, that are listed below.
Museums to visit in Lima:
- National Museum of the Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru (NMAAHP)
- Quinta de los Libertadores (Magdalena Palace)
- Larco Museum
- Amano Pre-Columbian Textile Museum
- Museo del Convento de San Francisco y Catacumbas (the Catacombs of Lima)
Archaeological sites to visit in Lima:
Why you should visit Lima in June before Cusco and Machu Picchu:
Most tourists visiting Peru know of the Inca civilization. And they’re visiting Peru to see Machu Picchu. From the second they start booking accommodation and tours, they’ll be fed Inca everything. All the names of accommodation and tour providers will be ‘Inca’ something or other.
Yet, Peru has a history stretching back 14,000 years. And there has been 7 great ‘Peruvian Epochs’ of which the Inca empire were the last. Lasting no more that 330 years and only ruling for less than 100, the Inca were a tiny blip at the end of a very long timeline.
The first identifiable villages in Peru, were dated to earlier than 7500 B.C. Peru is actually one of only 6 great ‘cradles of civilization’ and the first to form in the Americas.
A ‘cradle of civilization’ is a place where hunter gathers settled. And without outside influence formed their own complex societies and developed a ‘state’. Replete with social stratification, urbanization and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languages.
Now, if you skip Lima and just go straight to Cusco, you’re not going to learn anything about those societies that existed before the Inca. And you’re not going to know that the Inca themselves, actually built on top of much older and more technologically advanced civilisations.
The real power of the Inca, was their ability to assimilate other cultures and civilizations into their own society. And in Cusco you’ll hear a lot about how the Spaniards assimilated ‘Inca technologies’, building their own structures on top of Inca foundations to prevent collapse in earthquakes. But you won’t know that the Inca did the same.
It’s by visiting the Museums in Lima listed above, that you’ll get to see ceramics, textiles and gold works, that far pre-date the rise of the Inca. And it’s by visiting these museums you’ll understand where the technologies came from as each new civilization built on it’s predecessors.
It’s by visiting a museum like the National Museum of the Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru (NMAAHP) in Pueblo Libre, that you get to learn about the electro-chemical reactions that the Moche or Chimu used to plate jewellery with gold. And it’s in the NMAAHP you’ll get to see the famous Tumi (ceremonial knife), that is the symbol of Peru.
The Tumi is a creation of the Lambayeque culture from Northern Peru that followed the Moche and preceded the Chimu, builders of the worlds largest adobe brick city at Chan Chan. The Lambayeque predate the Inca by 500 to 700 years.
It’s also in the NMAAHP that you’ll see the ‘Paracas Shrouds’, used to wrap mummies more than 2500 years ago. More than 1200 years before the Inca, despite the fact that the shrouds look like new.
Next door to the NMAAHP, you’ll visit the Quinta de los Libertadores, also known as the Magdalena Palace. The house of the last viceroy of Peru, that became home to both José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, the two men who led the efforts to liberate Peru from the Spanish. The Magdalena Palace also served as the seat of Government during the ‘War of the Pacific’.
You see, if you skip Lima in June, just becasue it’s a little cold and grey, you’re not going to appreciate what you’re looking at when you get to Machu Picchu. You’re not going to know that Machu Picchu was the end and not the start, of a very long historical development. A historical development that did not begin but ended, with the tiny blip that was the Inca.
How long do I need in Lima in June before heading to Cusco?
If you’re just passing through Lima in June through to August on your way to Cusco and Machu Picchu, you don’t need long. In two full days and one night, you can see all of the museums and archaeological sites, that I’ve listed in this article above.
Yet, if you want to visit all these sites at a more relaxed pace, I would suggest adding an extra day. With three full days and two nights in Lima you can leisurely visit all of the museums and archaeological sites without rushing.
With three full days in Lima, you can also add in a trip to Antigua Taberna Queirolo, the oldest restaurant and bar in Lima and you can go shopping for a souvenir at the Santiago Queirolo pisco distillery next door. You’d even have time for a lunch or dinner at the Larco Museum’s beautiful garden restaurant.
Or with that extra day, you could have cocktails in one of Peru’s best cocktail bars. Like Carnival Bar in San Isidro that’s currently ranked at 43rd in the world or at Lady Bee in Miraflores that’s currently ranked at 16th in the world. Or you could visit the Museo del Pisco, and learn about the national drink that was invented by an American, named Victor Morris, in Lima!
Yet, no matter what you choose to add into your itinerary while you take your time in Lima, I’d suggest that you give Miraflores a hard pass. There’s nothing of historical value and the whole neighborhood is one big tourist trap. Plus, it will be cold and grey in winter. If you’re going to visit a seaside destination in Lima in June, make it the historic quarter of Barranco.
