I’ve been traveling through Peru for about a week now, entering the country from Ecuador and traveling along the coast through Mancora and Huacachina. Since entering Peru I’ve been watching the Independence Day preparations and celebrations ramp up as we approached 28 July.
Independence Day itself fell on a Tuesday this year, but the lead up has been crazy, especially as the holiday is so close to the weekend. From Friday of last week small towns I traveled through on my way toward Lima were well into their festivities. Impromptu markets were set up, streets that would usually be open for heavy streams of traffic, including the public buses, were closed.
People are excited here about celebrating their country. Similar to Australia Day and the USA’s Independence Day the towns and cities are decorated with Peruvian flags as far as the eye can see. Citizens are excited they get two days off to spend with their families.
When I initially arrived in Lima I stayed at a hotel in the downtown central area and loved it. Culturally rich with beautiful architecture, museums, restaurants and a diverse range of people, after having been warned by other travelers to avoid Central I was surprised by how nice it was. Whilst here I saw the preparations happening for Independence Day and felt disappointed that I was moving out to Miraflores which I had been advised by other travelers was the best place to stay.
Upon my arrival in Miraflores I found the area to be okay, but very culturally lacking and completely absent of Independence Day celebrations. I only lasted there one night, partly due to the lack of activity and partly because my hostel was pretty crappy. I moved myself back into downtown central Lima on Independence Day. It was the best decision I could have made.
People lined the fence in front of the Government Palace watching the President give a speech on the big screen TV set up there.
The streets around Plaza Mayor (the main square with the government palace) were filled with people, market stalls, government officials, police, television cameras and performance stages. The entire area was a buzz of activity from the beginning of the day well into the night. Well known Peruvian television presenters were filming what I assumed was a morning talk show on one of the stages, with locals trying to make eye contact and waving at one of the obviously famous male presenters as soon as he turned towards them.
Food stalls and markets were set up enticing thousands of hungry people to eat inexpensive stall food that smelled amazing.
The main shopping street of Jiron de la Union remained open throughout the day, drawing thousands of people with Independence Day special discounts and bucking the trend of the rest of the city being closed to retail consumers. I was thrilled to finally buy myself a new camera after my old one broke weeks ago in the Galapagos. I’m very happy to have taken advantage of the sales, similar to Christmas sales in Australia.
Jiron de la Union was packed with people throughout the day taking advantage of retail savings.
A free concert was given in the evening by a group I have no idea about, but the crowd seemed to know and like them.
Being here for such a happy couple of days for the people of this country has been excellent. I have felt incredibly safe and comfortable walking around the streets on Central Lima and will definitely be both return to and recommending over Miraflores to every traveler I meet. Days like Independence Day are the cherries on top of amazing travel. Being fortunate enough to experience these unexpected events adds an extra big smile to my face 🙂
Leave A Comment