Lima - Guide for Gays, Lesbians and Queers

Lima is Peru's largest city, with more than ten million people in the metropolitan area. Its queer scene is spread across several districts, and for visitors Miraflores on the coast is the main base. It has many bars, clubs and hotels, and it was home to ValeTodo Downtown on Calle Los Pinos, for years one of the city's best-known queer clubs. It closed during the pandemic and later reopened; check its current status before you go.

Many venues in the scene change quickly, and parties are often announced at short notice on social media. The most reliable tips come from people on the ground.

The country's oldest LGBTI organization is the Movimiento Homosexual de Lima, known as MHOL. It was founded in the early eighties and has shaped activism in Peru for decades. The biggest queer event of the year is the Marcha del Orgullo at the end of June, which recently drew more than fifty thousand people according to the organizers. The route changes; most recently it started and ended at the Campo de Marte in Jesús María, passing along several major avenues.

Peru does not legally recognize same-sex couples, and society is strongly Catholic. In Miraflores and neighboring Barranco the atmosphere is generally relaxed. At night, order taxis through an app rather than hailing them on the street, and leave valuables at your hotel, as anywhere in the city.