Museums of Peru
Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera, Lima
The world's largest private collection of pre-Columbian art focuses on the Moche dynasty (A.D. 200-700) and its extraordinary ceramics. Packed shelves in this 18th-century colonial building hold an incredible 45,000 pieces. And it wouldn't be a proper presentation of the Moche culture without a Sala Erótica, dedicated to the culture's explicit ceramic sexual depictions.
Museo de la Nación (National Museum), Lima
The National Museum traces the art and history of the earliest inhabitants to the Inca Empire, the last before colonization by the Spaniards. It's sprawling but very well designed, with scale models of major archaeological sites and great carved totems and textiles.
Convento y Museo de San Francisco, Lima
The capital's best colonial-era church, the Convent of St. Francis is a striking 17th-century baroque complex with gorgeous glazed ceramic tiles and carved ceilings. The museum holds excellent examples of religious art and a splendid library, but deep beneath the church are some creepy catacombs, dug in the 16th century to house the remains of tens of thousands of priests and parishioners.
Monasterio de Santa Catalina, Arequipa
The Convent of Santa Catalina, founded in 1579, is hands-down the greatest religious monument in Peru. More than a convent, it's an extraordinary and evocative small village, with Spanish-style cobblestone streets, passageways, plazas, and cloisters, where more than 200 sequestered nuns once lived (only a handful remain). Spending a sunny afternoon here is like being transported to another world: a small village in Andalucía, Spain.
Museo Santuarios Andinos, Arequipa
Down the street from the Convent of Santa Catalina at the Museum of Andean Sanctuaries is a singular exhibit, one of the most important recent archaeological finds in Peru: Juanita, the Ice Maiden of Ampato. A 13- or 14-year-old girl sacrificed in the 1500s by Inca priests on a volcano at more than 6,000m (20,000 ft.), "Juanita" was discovered in almost perfect condition in 1995. Her frozen remains, kept inside a high-tech chamber, have been studied by scientific teams from the U.S. and Peru to elicit clues from her DNA.
Museo Arqueológico Bruning, Lambayeque
Housing one of Peru's most important archaeological discoveries, the glittering royal tomb of the Lord of Sipán, this terrifically designed museum is a must-see. The Moche royal figure, buried 1,700 years ago, and his tomb, unearthed in all its undisturbed glory of ceremonial treasures, are astounding. Also on the premises is a wide-ranging collection of 1,500 items from the Lambayeque, Moche, Chavín, Vicus, and Inca civilizations, including a memorable gold room.
Conjunto Monumental de Belén, Cajamarca
A historic architectural complex of carved volcanic stone, Belén comprises an extraordinary colonial church and two former hospitals housing medical and archaeological exhibits, including textiles and ceramics dating back to 1500 B.C. and interesting ethnographic displays.
