The free walking tour through Barranco and Chorillos in Lima

WHAT: The best free walking tour I've ever joined - through the neigbhourhoods of Barranco and Chorillos, in Lima 

WHERE: In both the southern neighbourhoods of Barranco and Chorillos, Lima, Peru. Normally you can reserve a place through WhatsApp +51929111774, but if you don't have time for that, just show up in front of Starbucks next to the main square in Barranco. The tour starts at 11 am and usually runs from Monday - Saturday. But check in advance for all of this to be sure!

HOW LONG: More or less 4 hours in total. 

HOW MUCH: It's a free walking tour, so based on tips! Think of $10,- to $15,- USD each

While digging up memories about the Free Walking Tour of Barranco we did a couple of weeks ago in Lima, I feel nothing but good vibes. We decided pretty much last minute to join the tour with guide Alex, a Latvian guy who ended up in Lima after ten years of travelling – and that turned out to be a great decision. Although he hadn’t been his whole life in the city, Alex was the perfect guide; knowledgable, passionate about both Lima and Peru, full of great stories and most of all eager to wander off the beaten path with his crowd. 

Apart from a walk through the bohemian district of Barranco – Lima’s most artsy district – Alex takes you to the non-touristy Chorrillos, where he lives himself. Chorillos is a really interesting barrio just south of Barranco and near the steep cliffs of the city, but unfortunately not a place you can really go yourself. Because of that I especially appreciated the opportunity to see it and Alex gave us a great inside view into both the history as well as the current situation of Chorrillos. He also tries to set up initiatives involving the youth in the area. 

As this was the best free walking tours I’ve ever done (out of, let’s say 30), I can’t but recommend you to join it. Let me show you in here what you’ll encounter along the way 🙂 – and if you want to see more streets art in Barranco, click here!

This is Alex, telling about the street art behind him in Barranco, under the bridge of the street Ermita. The free walking tour starts in front of Starbucks, next to the main square of Barranco. After a first introduction to the neighbourhood, you’ll get your daily dose of street art at the stairs of the stairs of Oroya.

Alex tells you all about the stories of each work. The eyes of the woman for example (picture 3) refer to the story of a woman who came from the highlands of Peru to Lima for work and saw on the top of the very stairs were the painting is situated the ocean for the first time in her life. She just sat down there and stared for hours at it. An artist heard about this story and after her death he made this mural, in order for her to stare forever at the waves.

All of the artworks are so spectacular. My favourite one was this one above, a reference to nature and its transformation. 

After the artsy stairs of Oroya, we walked around the coolest street of the neighbourhood: Bajado del Baños. This walkway connects Barranco to the Pacific ocean and used to be the way where the fisher boats came in and out. Nowadays you’ll mainly spot the surfers on the road and a lot of galleries, where you can buy both clothes and art, or just sip a coffee on a roof tip.

Afterwards we hold our breaths while walking the bridge of sighs, so that we could make a wish afterwards, one of the local beliefs. 

Our last stop in Barranco was this colourful spot below near the bridge of Ermita x Av. San Martin. The colours were basically exploding from the wall in here, and many of the mural had some (political) meaning behind it.

After this colourful boost we took a bus to Chorrillos (1 sol each) – a small trip that took some 8 minutes, along the beautiful mansions of avenue Pedro de Osma. Slowly we strolled along the big and green boulevard, with pretty views on the beach, while Alex explained us the strategical relevance, the fishing ethics and the micro-climate of Chorillos within Lima throughout history.

To break the tour and to digest all of the information, we went to a small juice bar on the edge of the barrio. The place had delicious drinks and fresh banana cakes, giving us enough fuel to get ready for the last part of the trip.

On the most southern part of the neighbourhood, we climbed to the top of a big hill, from were we had the best views on Lima. It was amazing to see this desert like part so close of the city and the steep cliffs that just suddenly plunge this neighbourhood into the sea. In here, Alex told us his last story, about a Peruvian Romeo & Juliet type of couple – separated by their families, but united in love – and closed off the day with an ukulele song up on a cliff above the sea as his personal signature.  

Alex was eager enough to tell about his favourite places in the area, and therefore along with a couple of others we went back to one of the local ‘restaurants’. It really was just like eating at home with one of the families, which made it all the more special. They showed us how you make ceviche and were very happy that we visited them in that part of the neighbourhood.

I’d never had such an authentic experience with local people while doing a walking tour, full of interesting stories and a wide variety of sights. So if you go to Lima, just go for this tour!