Cerro San Cristóbal

What makes it special

The Rímac river channel runs below the summit, through the middle of the city. The Acho bullring, the Presbítero Maestro cemetery and the Civic Centre are among the landmarks you can pick out.

The cross stands about 65 feet tall and is built of concrete and steel. It has stood over the city since December 1928.

Beside the cross, a site museum keeps a collection of photographs of old Lima. Look through them, then go back out to the viewpoints and compare them with the city in front of you.

On one slope, in the Leticia barrio, the hillside is painted as one large mural of colourful chacanas, covering more than 75 acres.

Visiting

One road leads up the hill, starting at Paseo de Aguas in the Rímac district. It loops for just under a mile to the summit.

If you ride up, ask the driver to wait at the top while you look round and then take you back down. That saves finding a ride on the summit.

At the top, find the river and the bullring from the viewpoints, walk to the foot of the cross, and see the museum beside it before riding down.

Guided or on your own

Trips up the hill are sold on the streets around the Plaza de Armas, near Santo Domingo church and along the Alameda Chabuca Granda.

Some are sold by street touts, known as jaladores. Before you pay, ask the seller to show that the operator is authorised, and walk away from one who cannot.

Tips

Haze can hide the view into the distance, so look at the sky over Lima before you set off, and pick another day if the city is under haze.

If you are in Lima on Good Friday, you can climb on foot with the pilgrimage. Thousands walk up to the cross that day.