Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología y Historia del Peru
Plaza Bolívar, Pueblo Libre T 463 5070
(Tuesday-Sunday, 9am ? 5pm )
This is the most interesting archaeological museum in Lima, with a fine collection of ceramics and many superb Paracas textiles. The museum also contains various important stone pieces, including the wonderful carved Stella Raymondi and the Tello Obelisk, both from Chavín de Huántar. There are a number of fine gold and silver pieces also on display. The museum presents a history of Peru, starting with early pre-Hispanic cultures, advancing to the Incas. Although the collection is not as extensive as that of the Museo de la Nación, the pieces are generally of a higher quality and better displayed and illuminated. A visit to the museum is highly recommended, especially if you are planning on travelling to any of Peru's archaeological sites, as the collection gives a good insight into the context of different pre-Hispanic cultures. In addition to the pre-Hispanic content of the museum, there is a section dedicated to the colonial and republican eras, with furniture and paintings from the period. There are some very interesting descriptions of the development of indigenous Peruvians after the arrivals of the Spanish, and the section is worth visiting. The museum is in Pueblo Libre, and is rather difficult to get to by public transport, although you can take a bus marked Todo Brasil, and ask the driver to drop you off at Av. General Vivanco, from where it is a five-block walk. A taxi from Miraflores will cost about $2. The Rafael Larco Herrera museum is a 15-minute walk from the museum, and the route is clearly marked by a blue line on the pavement.
Museo Rafael Larco Herrera
Avenida Bolívar 1515, Pueblo Libre T 461 1312
http://museolarco.perucultural.org.pe
This is a museum with a wonderful collection of ceramics. These are in excellent condition, and cover most of Peru's pre-Hispanic cultures, especially the Moche and Chimú cultures. There are 45,000 pieces in the museum, although only a small fraction of these are actually on display. The rest are housed in the storeroom, which can be visited and the pieces seen. The museum also has a large collection of erotic ceramics, which are housed in a separate section of the museum where admission of children is prohibited. These are mostly from the Moche culture, and served different purposes, including humour and warnings about deviant behaviour. There are some pieces from the Salinar culture, which are said to be the first erotic representations in the world. In addition to the ceramics, the museum also houses some Chavín stone heads, some metalwork, some rather poor textiles and some excellent gold, silver and turquoise jewellery. The pieces in the museum are well displayed and there are good explanations, and a guide can be hired. To get to the museum you can catch a combi to Av. Brasil and get off at Av. Bolívar. From there catch another combi to the museum. A taxi from Miraflores will cost about $2.
Museo de Oro
Avenida Alonso de Molina 1100, Monterrico T 437 7797
The famous gold museum in Lima is one of the city's top tourist attractions, and contains an enormous collection of 10,000 gold, silver and copper pieces, some of which are excellent. The museum was briefly closed in 2001, with the suspicion that many of the pieces on display are fakes. However, the museum is still well worth visiting. In addition to the precious metals, the museum has a fine collection of textiles, stone carvings and ceramics, including a large collection of erotic ceramics. However, the overall collection is poorly displayed and has appalling labelling.
The collection contains pieces from most of the important Peruvian cultures, including Chavín, Vicus, Moche, Chimú, Inca, Chancay, Paracas, Nazca and Tihuanaco. The star of the show is the Chimú gold Tumi, a 20cm-tall ceremonial knife, replicas of which can be found throughout Peru, Many of the pieces are often abroad at temporary exhibitions, but the collection is so large that this does not really matter.
The collection is completely private and has been largely built by buying from tomb robbers. Although purchasing such pieces no doubt encourages the activity of looting, the market for such treasures is large and it is likely that they would have been taken anyway. Additionally, by buying the pieces, Miguel Mujica Gallo ensures that they are on display for the public.
It takes several hours to see the whole collection, including the textiles and ceramics, and there is also a collection of armour and weaponry from Peru and around the world. There are several upmarket jewellery and craft shops in the grounds of the museum.
The museum is far from most areas visited by travellers, and the easiest way to get there is by taxi. A taxi should charge less than $2 from Miraflores, and a bit more from the centre. Otherwise, take a combi from Av. Angamos in Miraflores that goes down Av. Primavera. Ask to get off at Cuadra 18 of Av. Primavera in Monterrico.
Museo de la Nación
Av. Javier Prado Este 2465, San Borja T 476 9878
This is a large museum with an interesting collection of artefacts from pre-Hispanic Peru, There is a good display of the development of the different cultures right up to the Incas, and the museum gives a clear idea of the extensive nature of pre-Hispanic Peru, and the importance of the north coast especially. However, many of the displays are badly lit and the explanations are often inadequate. Additionally, many of the most interesting items are copies, with the originals in other museums, such as the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología y Historia del Peru, The museum is not particularly close to any other areas of interest in Lima, so a taxi or a bus will have to be taken to reach it. Take any combi marked Todo Javier Prado (Este) and ask the driver to drop you off at the museum. A taxi from the centre or Miraflores should cost about $1.50.
Other Attractions
There are several other attractions in Lima, including the Museo de Historia Natural ( Avenida Arenales 1250, Lince), with a decent collection of flora and fauna from around Peru, and the Parque de las Leyendas , a zoo in San Miguel with a good collection of animals from around Peru, although the conditions many of the animals are kept in is not good.
The Enrico Poli Museum (Lord Cochrane 466, T 422 2437, guided tours only, minimum 5 people per tour. Phone for an appointment) has one of the best private collections of archaeological artefacts in Lima, The Museo Amano ( Retiro 160, off 11 th block of Av. Angamos, Miraflores, T 441 2909) has a good collection of textiles, mainly from the Chancay culture. The museum is open in the afternoons only and can only be visited by appointment.
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