Lima now joins the port of Callao, although Peru’s most important port, which handles some three quarters of the nation’s imports and a quarter of its exports, is really a city in its own right. In the early 16th century Callao became a strategic port, particularly for Spanish trade and in the 1600s a fort was constructed here in order to ward off the likes of other interested parties such as Sir Francis Drake who was keen to muscle in on Spanish colonies. Callao, much of it low-lying, was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami in 1746 created by the same huge earthquake that flattened Lima.

Unfortunately large parts of Callao, which once boasted lovely old houses, are somewhat rundown but efforts are being made to clean up the city centre and some buildings have been restored. There’s a few interesting museums and the Fortaleza del Real Felipe on the peninsula is worth a visit. Today, Callao is still one of South America’s principal ports and is home to the Jorge Chavez International Airport around 15 km from central Lima.