Food Tours · Tour

The Chorrillos Fish Market, Then the Menu del Dia

Every ceviche tour in Lima starts at a market. This one starts one step earlier, at Chorrillos, where the boats come in. That is worth the price on its own. You see the fishermen working, the tools and the baits they use, and the Pacific from the shore, and the guide explains why a city on that coast is a desert: the Humboldt current brings up cold water, cold water brings up fish, and it also keeps the rain away. Then two markets in Surquillo, which is the district that made Lima's cooking reputation. Market Number 2 first, for the produce, the meat, the vegetables and the menu del dia, which is what Lima actually eats at lunchtime and costs almost nothing. Then the ceviche, made from fish that was in the sea that morning. Market Number 1 after, for fruit from all three of Peru's regions, the coast, the Andes and the Amazon, plus small snacks and a proper explanation of how a Lima market works. The stallholders are proud of what they sell and will show you; this is the place to try your Spanish. Three hours. Eight people at most, in English, Spanish or Portuguese, with free hotel pick-up and drop-off, an air-conditioned vehicle, a local guide and everything you eat.