Museo de la Nación

Peru’s largest museum, and cheaper to see than the private collections, is Museo de la Nación (Javier Prado Este 2465, tel. 01/476-9873, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Tues.–Sun., US$4, US$3 students), in the east Lima [1] suburb of San Borja.

Though criticized for a rambling organization, this museum has a great chronological layout, which makes it perhaps Lima [1]’s most understandable and educational museum. There are three levels of exhibits showcasing Peru’s entire archaeological history, from Chavín stone carvings and Paracas weavings all the way to the Inca.

There are good models of Machu Picchu [2], the Nasca Lines, and the Lords of Sipán tomb excavated near Chiclayo [3] in 1987, one of the great finds of Latin American archaeology.

This is a full-blown version of Peru’s culture for the history hungry. A more condensed alternative is the Museo Nacional de Arqueología [4].