Since we didn’t make it to Machu Picchu, the grand finale of our tour through South America was Lima’s food—and it wasn’t a bad place at all to end.

Lima, being on the Pacific coast, has some of the world’s best and freshest ceviche. Light, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned, every bite is worth relishing.

We had ceviche at a couple of places in Lima, and the best of the best is at La Mar. While the prices are a bit steep, it’s definitely worth every peso.

Lima also has other sumptuous dishes beyond those from the sea. A popular meal or snack for limeños is anticuchos—or skewered beef hearts. While this may sound a bit unappetizing for those most familiar with a Western diet, the hearts basically just tasted like regular beef and were really yummy.

My favorite dish—well, right after the ceviche—was a soup call sopa criolla. Consisting of chunky beef and angel hair pasta with an egg and piece of toast on top, it has a slightly spicy kick that will warm your soul.

In fact, I loved this soup so much that we sought it out specifically on our final night, before flying out to the next leg of our journey—Australia!

Travel Notes

• We stayed in Miraflores, a popular neighborhood for tourists. It’s safe and has tons of restaurants, plus easy access to ocean views and walks. We spent several hours over our few days in Lima just walking up and down the ocean walk!
• From Miraflores, you can take the public train to the historic downtown center for the main attractions around the Plaza de Armas.
• We did a Free Tour Downtown Lima tour, which was extremely mediocre/borderline bad, but largely due to our guide. We really didn’t learn anything from the guide beyond what we could have read on Wikipedia.
• Get as much ceviche as you can!!