Parque de la Muralla is located on the edge of the historic city of Lima, between the Government Palace and the southern bank of the Rímac River. The green areas serve the population primarily as a resort, the location on the river is ideal. The walks lead across terraces and observation decks, past pools.
The park has been declared a national heritage. This is mainly due to the efforts of the authorities to make the heavily neglected riverbank an ecologically intact and urban usable place. Because, as in every big city, the space is scarce and the environment burdened, what is available to nature, should be protected. The area between the main part of the historic old town, namely the Plaza Mayor with its colonial buildings and the riverbank, is particularly well suited for this purpose.
Nearby there are other attractions for tourists and the local population, such as the historic train station Desamparados. As part of the construction work, the oldest bridges in Lima over the Rímac were restored. The grounds are home to playgrounds and concerts are held on the weekends. The park definitely adds value to the city.
Lima’s old city wall
In the Parque de la Muralla, in German “Mauerpark”, there are fragments of the old city wall, which was built in the seventeenth century. This was a bigger business that was supposed to protect the city from pirates and other enemies. The wall was 11.5 kilometers long and was equipped with 34 bastions.
However, this wall was a project that should not be conserved for long, because two hundred years later, Lima had grown so much that the city grew beyond the walls. Besides, she had proved useless. Lima was well protected from the sea by the port city of Callao and its fortress and was never attacked. The museum in the Parque de la Muralla makes the remains of the walls accessible to visitors and strives to conserve them.
If you visit the Parque de la Muralla, you can visit the excavated foundations and the remains of the wall in selected places, enjoy a meal in a restaurant in beautiful surroundings or just take a walk. Even at night, the park with its sophisticated lighting is a place worth staying.
