In Lima, what procent of the population lives in elegant districts as Miraflores, Surco?

Question

My impression is that gringos get to know Miraflores, maybe Barranco and Lima Cientro( at day!) and they get wrong impressions. Most of population in Lima( 8 million people!) live in the other 30 districts which are ugly or grimy.

Answer 1

I agree with you. A big reason that those people visit "tourist" areas is because they are usually more accommodating for tourists.

Many travelers that go to Peru are also stongly advised to stick to these districts for safety purposes. Even those that would want to visit other "uglier" districts often stick out like sore thumbs in doing so, unless they understand how to and/or are willing to blend in with the natives. In poorer areas this means dressing down considerably (no fancy clothes) and very little if any make-up. Even a tourist's skin color or facial features can make him stand out in an area where the majority of people come from the same native Peruvian roots. Keeping all of this in mind, uninformed tourists can and sometimes do become victims of theft or other criminal acts in poorer neighborhoods. (For the record this is not to say that crimes aren't committed in more elegant districts as well, just that they are considered to be less risky.)

As you mentioned, a very small percentage of the population lives in these nice areas. In 2002, Miraflores was estimated to have 92,815 inhabitants. As of 2005, the population of the metropolitan area of Lima was estimated at 9.2 million. Even if the inhabitants of Miraflores grew considerably in that 3 year span, only about 1% of the entire metropolitan population lives in Miraflores. I would bet that in 2008 that figure has not changed much. If you want to throw in other "tourist" districts such as San Isidro, Barranco, Surco, etc that percentage would increase but still be a very small number.

I was informed of the good, the bad, and the ugly before I moved to Peru - and after having lived there I love all of it. I changed much of my life-style in order to blend in with the crowd and have been mistaken for being Peruvian or of other South American descent on numerous occassions, although I'm from the US with Irish ancestry. I say this because it is possible to live in and experience the culture of the poorer areas of Lima, always when one is aware of his surroundings. I've been lucky enough to have my Peruvian boyfriend as a guide when I was first getting to know the area and would recommend to any tourist wanting to discover other parts of Lima to have a guide that can be trusted.

And yes, some poorer areas are "ugly" or "grimy" but they all have something to offer in terms of experience and understanding of the difficulties some people face. I had no idea what poverty was until I saw it first hand, and even I have a long way to go in learning and appreciating what I have.

Best wishes to you and thanks for the interesting question. :)

Answer 2

You are right.

It is said that "gringos" that visit Lima probably are going to visit only Miraflores, Surco, San Isidro, the more elegant and safe districts of Lima.

I guess it´s around 5% of the lima people that are there, but tourists only visit this areas because most of the attractions are there, such as museums, shopping centers, hotels, plazas, etc.

If you have the time, you must visit other parts of town, just be careful - as you said, it is a 8 million people city!