One of Lima’s most affluent neighborhoods and main financial district, San Isidro is often passed over by visitors on their way to the beaches and shopping malls of Miraflores, but there are still a few surprises to be found between the business headquarters and residential blocks. In recent years, San Isidro has also spruced up its image and many of its elegant 20th-century mansions have been converted into 5-star hotels, luxury shopping boutiques and international restaurants.
The Huallamarca is San Isidro’s principal tourist attraction, an elaborately restored adobe pyramid centered around the ruins of a pre-Columbian temple and now home to a museum displaying artifacts excavated from the site. Equally incongruous are the many green spaces that break up the sea of high-rise office blocks, most notably the scenic El Olivar park, an ancient olive grove and National Monument, popular with bird watchers and picnickers.
