Lima

Is Lima safe?

For most visitors, yes, but less than a few years ago. The usual trip of a few days in Miraflores or Barranco, the historic centre by day and a lot of very good food rarely goes wrong. The catch is that Lima's crime has risen steeply. According to the statistics office INEI, criminal killings in Lima Metropolitana rose from 9.4 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 11.8 in 2024, and the national rate reached 10.7 in 2025 on preliminary figures.

The US State Department keeps Peru at Level 2 and says crime often happens in daylight and in front of witnesses. We score Lima 51 out of 100, level with Bogotá and just above Medellín. Our Peru page covers Cusco, Machu Picchu and the rest of the country.

Extortion, killings and the state of emergency

Most of the violence is not aimed at visitors. Extortion gangs demand payments from bus companies, minibus drivers, market traders and small businesses, and kill those who refuse. Lima and the neighbouring port of Callao have been under a state of emergency since September 2024, when a wave of attacks on transport workers and traders began; the government extended it again in June 2026 for 60 days, keeping the armed forces on the streets alongside police.

The killings are concentrated. INEI's district figures for 2024 show the central Lima district at 33.5 per 100,000, La Victoria at 23.6 and Comas at 18.3. Miraflores showed 12.7, a figure inflated by its small resident population and large number of people passing through. Most of the deaths are contract killings and gang disputes rather than attacks on strangers.

Where to stay

Miraflores, Barranco and San Isidro are where most visitors stay, and they have the most police, private guards and evening life along the clifftop Malecón. Go to the historic centre by day and leave by taxi before dark. Districts with the highest killing rates, such as La Victoria (home of the Gamarra textile market), Comas, San Juan de Lurigancho and the port areas of Callao, have nothing a visitor needs at night.

Robbery, fake taxis and express kidnapping

Street crime is the risk visitors meet. The UK Foreign Office reports gunpoint robberies of British tourists and residents, including in Miraflores and Barranco. Motorbike riders snatch phones from people standing at the roadside, criminals target cars stopped at traffic lights, and pickpockets work crowded buses and markets.

Taxis are the weak point. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that criminals posing as taxi drivers rob passengers, especially at Jorge Chávez airport and bus terminals, and that solo travellers are at risk of express kidnapping, in which victims are driven between cash machines, usually at night. What helps:

• Never hail a taxi on the street. Use Uber, Cabify, a hotel-booked cab or the official airport desks outside the baggage hall.
• Use cash machines inside banks, supermarkets or malls during the day.
• Keep your phone in your pocket near the kerb and in a car with the window down.
• If you are threatened, hand over what you have. Robbers are often armed.

Getting around and crossing the road

Lima's traffic is aggressive. Transport ministry figures reported by Canal N show that pedestrians knocked down by vehicles are the largest group of road deaths in the city, ahead of collisions, with motorcyclists the most affected group of road users. Many drivers do not stop at zebra crossings, informal minibuses (combis) race for passengers, and the main avenues are wide and fast. Cross with the lights and with other people. The Metropolitano bus line and Metro Line 1 are quicker than taxis at rush hour but crowded, so watch your bag.

Earthquakes, El Niño and air

Lima sits close to the fault where the Nazca plate dives under South America, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says Peru has frequent tremors. A large earthquake is the city's biggest natural risk, and low-lying coastal areas such as Callao and parts of Chorrillos would face a tsunami. Learn the evacuation signs in your hotel and move to higher ground after a strong coastal quake. It almost never rains in Lima, but the FCDO warns that El Niño may bring heavy rain, floods and mudslides to the central coast through April 2027.

The air is moderately polluted: IQAir measured 18.2 µg/m³ of PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary in 2024, more than three times the WHO guideline. Drink bottled water. Private clinics in Miraflores and San Isidro are good, but ambulances are private services you pay for.

How we scored it

Theft and robbery (42) and night safety (45) are Lima's weakest factors, followed by violent crime (52), traffic safety (52) and natural hazards (52). Health and environment (64) is its strongest. Rising killings and the long state of emergency are the reasons Lima now sits with Bogotá rather than with Buenos Aires.