A Subterranean Labyrinth in Lima: The Catacombs of the Convent of San Francisco

If you are passing through the capital of Peru, one of the places you can not miss is the Historical Center of Lima; Walking around is really a delight to behold, you will find its most representative buildings such as the Government Palace, the Lima Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Station of the Desamparados, Republicans Houses, Colonial Balconies, The Monumental Complex of San Francisco and many others. And I am going to stop in this last one, one of the most beautiful and emblematic churches of Lima that draws attention by its unmistakable and striking yellow color of its baroque facade.

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I took a classic Lima City Tour recently that included entrance to the San Francisco Convent or also called San Francisco Church; A very interesting visit not only by its Library which houses on average 25,000 copies made mostly with animal skins and kept in very good condition, within them some volumes of the first Dictionary edited by the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language - This library is considered the oldest of Latin America - but mainly for its Catacombs, a series of subterranean galleries with vaulted ceilings and planes joined by passages and arches of point that served as cemetery for the ancient inhabitants of Lima in the time of the Colony (until the early nineteenth century) and which housed more than 20,000 people.
At that time they had the belief that being buried under a church would be closer to the sky at the time of their death, that is why the cost was high and only wealthy people could have access to a burial in the crypts or Catacombs of San Francisco.

Along the way, one can observe contiguous rectangular sepulchres where the coffins were once placed on top of each other separated by layers of earth and quicklime, besides wells of 10 meters deep filled with skulls, femurs, tibias and other parts of bodies that Have been ordered and organized to make the tour more "pleasant" or attractive, and is that it really is what draws the most attention to visitors (of course, if they are not sensitive people).It is also said that there are secret passages that would connect with the Government Palace and the Desamparados Station. thats all for today i hope you enjoyed my article See you soon!

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Additional Information:

• Opening hours of the San Francisco Convent: Monday to Sunday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.
• Approximate distances by car: From Miraflores 30 min / From San Isidro 25 min / From the airport 40 min.
• Tours and Rates Average: In Lima there are 2 types of experiences in tours, in conventional tourist buses that include pick-up / return to your hotel (average rate between $ 33.00 and $ 40.00 dollars) and in panoramic buses of 2 floors without roof that have a Specific departure point (Between $ 25.00 and $ 29.00).