Miraflores - Definition

Miraflores is an affluent district of Lima, Peru. This district features spacious modern shopping areas, well-manicured parks and gardens, and is a favourite for tourists. Miraflores is known for its many flower-filled parks, but is also famous for its beaches, that are part of the "Costa Verde" area, which draw thousands of beach-goers and surfers in summertime. Mostly on weekends, but depending on wind, paragliders launch from the coastal ridge for a ride between the sea and the tall buildings in the malecón.

View from the Villena bridge

The district also puts on many cultural events at theaters, cinemas and art galleries, and boasts a pre-Inca mud-brick temple called the Huaca Pucllana, one of many archaeological sites still found in Lima. The district teems with cozy cafés, pubs, restaurants and shops, while its freshly remodeled parks and gardens attract thousands of Lima inhabitants every Sunday who congregate to visit art exhibitions, take in open-air concerts and browse through flea markets. Larcomar, one of the most important shopping and entertrainment of Lima (and indeed of Peru), is located in Miraflores, and is very popular among tourists and people of the medium-to-upper-class socioeconomic levels.

During the War of the Pacific, the district was the scenary of the Battle of Miraflores. Two thousand persons died and the district was sacked and burned by abusive Chilean invaders.

The Universidad Científica del Sur is located in Miraflores.

"Ovalo" in downtown Miraflores