The best time to visit Lima, Peru by weather and activities depends on what you came for. For sunshine, beaches and clifftop sunsets, come from December to April, when the mean daily high reaches 28 °C in February. For museums, food and a quieter city, the gray months from June to November work well: the sky is often overcast and a fine drizzle called garúa comes and goes, but it almost never rains properly. For the green hills around the city, the lomas, aim for July to October, and for festivals, October, when the Señor de los Milagros processions fill the historic center.
This guide compares the months by traveler goal rather than naming one best time, because Lima has no bad month, only different ones. The one caveat is expectations: from about June to November, many days are gray from morning to evening, and El Niño years can upend the usual pattern. Temperatures come from 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Lima’s airport station, and event dates, hours and closures were checked on September 24, 2026, against the agencies’ and organizers’ own websites.
On this page: By goal · The two seasons · Month by month · Summer · The gray months · May and November · Festivals and holidays · Weather myths · By activity · By trip type · Day-trip weather · Crowds and booking · What to pack · Lima and the Andes · FAQ
Best Time to Visit Lima, by Goal
| If you want | Go in | Why | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunshine and sunsets | January to March | Mean highs of 27 to 28 °C, clear evenings, sunsets as late as about 6:40 p.m. | July to September, the grayest stretch |
| Beaches and swimming | January to March | The warmest sea, around 20 °C, and the busiest beaches | Swimming anywhere DIGESA rates unfit |
| Museums, food and history | Any month | The indoor attractions don’t care about the sky | Mondays, when most museums close |
| Green hills and hikes (the lomas) | July to October | The winter mist turns the coastal hills green | December to April, when they’re dry and brown |
| Festivals | October, late July, late August | The Señor de los Milagros, Fiestas Patrias and Santa Rosa de Lima | Driving across the center on procession days |
| Surfing | Any month, in a wetsuit | The water stays cool all year | Beaches with water-quality warnings |
| Fewer crowds | May, June and September to mid-November | Outside summer and the big national holidays | Holiday weekends and the first week of November 2026 |
Lima’s Two Seasons, Explained
Lima sits on a desert coast, and its weather is ruled by the cold ocean beside it. SENAMHI, Peru’s weather service, describes the climate of the coast as arid and temperate. The Peru current, also called the Humboldt current, and the upwelling of deep water keep the sea off the central coast at roughly 17 to 19 °C, far colder than its tropical latitude suggests, and that cool water shapes everything else.
Summer, from about December to April, is sunny, hot and humid. In the 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport station, the mean daily high peaks at 28.0 °C in February, with lows around 21 °C. Days are clear more often than not, the beaches fill, and the sun sets over the Pacific.
The gray months, from about June to October or November, are cool and overcast. A low marine cloud settles over the coast, often for days at a time, and a persistent morning drizzle, the garúa, is frequent from June through September. The mean high drops to 19.2 °C in August, with lows around 15 °C, and the humidity makes it feel cooler. It’s not cold by most standards, but it’s not what visitors picture when they book a trip to a Pacific coast city.
There’s no rainy season. The same normals put Lima’s rainfall at between 0.1 and 1.5 mm a month, about 6 mm a year, and SENAMHI says the city gets less than 15 mm a year, mostly as drizzle. The exception is El Niño, which severely disrupts the coastal climate in the years it strikes, bringing warmer water and, sometimes, real rain.
Lima Month by Month: Weather, Sunsets and What’s On
Temperatures are the 1991 to 2020 mean daily highs and lows for the Jorge Chávez airport station, on the coast in Callao; Miraflores and Barranco feel much the same. Sunset times are our calculation from NOAA’s solar equations for mid-month. Events are for 2026, and for early 2027 where dates are published.
| Month | High / low | Sky and sea | Sunset | What’s on | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.8 / 20.4 °C | Sunny, humid; warmest sea | About 6:40 p.m. | New Year’s Day; Lima’s founding anniversary on January 18 | Beaches, sunsets |
| February | 28.0 / 21.0 °C | The hottest month | About 6:37 p.m. | Peak summer and beach season | Beaches, outdoor dining |
| March | 27.6 / 20.5 °C | Still hot and bright | About 6:23 p.m. | Holy Week 2027: Holy Thursday and Good Friday, March 25 and 26 | Summer weather with fewer crowds after the holidays |
| April | 25.4 / 18.7 °C | Warm, clouds returning late in the month | About 6:04 p.m. | The end of summer | A good all-round month |
| May | 22.8 / 17.3 °C | Cooling, more cloud | About 5:51 p.m. | Labor Day holiday, May 1 | Museums, food, quieter hotels |
| June | 20.5 / 16.6 °C | Gray skies set in; garúa begins | About 5:51 p.m. | Saints Peter and Paul holiday, June 29 | Museums, food; Lachay’s season begins |
| July | 19.6 / 15.9 °C | Gray, damp, cool | About 5:58 p.m. | Fiestas Patrias, the independence holidays, July 28 and 29 | Festivities, the lomas turning green |
| August | 19.2 / 15.4 °C | The coolest, grayest month | About 6:04 p.m. | Santa Rosa de Lima’s feast day, August 30 | The lomas, museums |
| September | 19.6 / 15.3 °C | Gray, with brighter spells | About 6:04 p.m. | Spring begins; lomas at their greenest | Hiking the lomas |
| October | 20.8 / 16.0 °C | Warming, still often overcast | About 6:04 p.m. | Señor de los Milagros processions on October 3, 18, 19 and 28, 2026; holiday October 8; Día de la Canción Criolla, October 31 | Religious festivals, the last of the green lomas |
| November | 22.4 / 17.1 °C | Brightening | About 6:13 p.m. | All Saints’ Day and the last procession, November 1; the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in Lima, November 4, 2026 | Food, a pre-summer visit |
| December | 24.4 / 18.6 °C | Summer arriving | About 6:28 p.m. | Holidays December 8, 9 and 25 | Early summer, Christmas in the city |
January
High summer. The mean high is 26.8 °C, the sea is at its warmest and the sun sets around 6:40 p.m., the latest of the year, so evenings on the clifftops are long. It’s also school-holiday beach season for Peruvian families, and on January 18 the city marks its founding anniversary. Check DIGESA’s ratings before swimming: in January 2026 several beaches in Barranco and Chorrillos were rated unfit for bathers.
February
The hottest month, with a mean high of 28.0 °C and lows around 21 °C, and humid enough to feel it. It’s the easiest month for a beach day and an outdoor dinner, and the worst for walking the historic center at midday. Plan museum visits for the middle of the day and the coast for the late afternoon.
March
Still summer, with a mean high of 27.6 °C and sunsets around 6:23 p.m. Holy Week moves each year; in 2027, Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays on March 25 and 26, and roads out of the city fill. Once the holidays pass, March is one of the best months: summer weather with the school year under way.
April
The transition. The mean high falls to 25.4 °C, clouds start to return toward the end of the month, and sunsets move earlier, to around 6:04 p.m. by mid-month. For many travelers it’s the sweet spot: warm, usually bright and past the summer peak.
May
Cooling, with a mean high of 22.8 °C and more cloud as the month goes on. The sun sets around 5:51 p.m., the earliest of the year. It’s a quiet month for hotels and a good one for museums and food, and May 1 is a national holiday.
June
The gray settles in. The mean high is 20.5 °C, the garúa drizzle becomes common, and the Lachay reserve’s recommended season begins. The Saints Peter and Paul holiday falls on June 29. Pack layers and plan indoor days, with a morning in the lomas later in the month if the hills are greening.
July
Cool and often damp, with a mean high of 19.6 °C. Fiestas Patrias, the independence holidays on July 28 and 29, bring celebrations and closures around the Plaza de Armas, and the lomas are turning green. It’s also when many visitors pass through on the way to the Andes.
August
The coolest month, with a mean high of 19.2 °C and the most drizzle in the normals, though that’s still only about 1.5 mm. Santa Rosa de Lima’s feast day on August 30 draws crowds to her sanctuary. The lomas are near their best, so this is a month for Lachay or Lomas de Lúcumo.
September
Spring on the calendar, gray in the sky, with a mean high of 19.6 °C. The lomas are at their greenest, and on September 27, World Tourism Day, Peruvian visitors enter the Lachay reserve for free, so expect company there. A good month for museums, food and hikes.
October
Lima’s festival month. The Señor de los Milagros processions go through the city on October 3, 18, 19 and 28 in 2026, October 8 is a national holiday, and October 31 is the Día de la Canción Criolla. The mean high edges up to 20.8 °C, and the lomas are still green early in the month.
November
Brightening, with a mean high of 22.4 °C. November 1 is a national holiday and the day of the last Señor de los Milagros procession of 2026, and on November 4 the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony comes to Lima for the first time, so book the best-known restaurants and nearby hotels early for that week.
December
Summer arrives, with a mean high of 24.4 °C and sunsets around 6:28 p.m. December 8, 9 and 25 are national holidays, and the city fills for Christmas and New Year. It’s a good month for a trip that mixes early-summer weather with the holiday atmosphere.
Summer in Lima: December to April
Summer is when Lima is at its most outdoor. The clifftop parks fill at sunset, the beaches below Miraflores, Barranco and Chorrillos come alive, and La Punta, in Callao, has its busiest season. Mean highs run from 24.4 °C in December to 28.0 °C in February, and SENAMHI’s forecast for summer 2025 put seaside districts at about 28 °C by day and 21 °C at night, with peaks that could top 31 °C. It’s humid, so the heat feels real.
Check the water before you swim. In January 2026, DIGESA, the health ministry’s environmental agency, rated some beaches unfit for bathers, including Los Pavos and Las Sombrillas in Barranco and La Herradura and Villa in Chorrillos. Authorities tell the public to check each beach’s current status before going in.
Summer’s downside is demand. It’s the season for domestic holidays at the beach, and national holidays such as Holy Week, which falls on March 25 and 26 in 2027, fill the roads out of the city. Book hotels early for sea views, and expect the clifftops to be busy in the evening.
The Gray Months: June to November
Lima’s winter doesn’t look like the city in the brochures, and visitors who arrive expecting sunshine are disappointed. From about June to October, a low marine cloud covers the coast for days at a time, the garúa drizzle dampens the streets in the mornings, and the mean high sits around 19 to 21 °C. Sea views go gray, and the famous sunsets become a paler glow behind the cloud, if you see them at all.
The upside is that everything that makes Lima worth visiting still works. The museums, the historic center, the restaurants and the markets don’t depend on the sky, and this is the season to see the lomas, the coastal hills that turn green in the winter mist. Lomas de Lúcumo lists July to October as its best months, and SERNANP, Peru’s protected-areas service, recommends visiting the Lachay reserve from June to November. The Palomino Islands boats, which SERNANP says can be visited all year, run in the gray months too.
The Shoulder Months: May and November
May and November sit between the two seasons and can be the best compromise. In May, the summer heat has faded, the mean high is 22.8 °C, and the gray hasn’t fully settled; hotels are past the summer peak. In November, the sky starts to brighten, the mean high climbs to 22.4 °C, and the city is gearing up for summer. November 2026 has an extra draw and an extra crowd: the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in Lima on November 4, the first time it’s held in Peru, which will make the best-known restaurants and nearby hotels harder to book that week.
Festivals and Holidays Worth Planning Around
- Señor de los Milagros (October). Lima’s great religious devotion, a painting of Christ kept at the Las Nazarenas sanctuary, goes out in procession through the city. In 2026 the processions are on October 3, 18, 19 and 28 and November 1. October is also the month when turrón de doña Pepa, the syrup-soaked layer cake, appears in every bakery.
- Día de la Canción Criolla (October 31). Peru celebrates its criollo music, the waltzes and marineras of the coast.
- Fiestas Patrias (July 28 and 29). The independence holidays bring parades and national celebrations, and streets around the Plaza de Armas have been closed for the events in past years, as in late July 2025.
- Santa Rosa de Lima (August 30). Crowds visit the saint’s sanctuary on Avenida Tacna, which keeps special hours around her feast day.
- Holy Week. In 2027, Holy Thursday and Good Friday fall on March 25 and 26, both national holidays.
- Lima’s anniversary (January 18). The city marks the day in January 1535 when Francisco Pizarro founded the City of the Kings.
- The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (November 4, 2026). The ceremony comes to Lima for the first time, after Maido was named the World’s Best Restaurant in 2025 and Central in 2023.
Big events come with closures. During the processions, avoid driving across the historic center, and during Fiestas Patrias expect cordons around the Plaza Mayor. National holidays also bring domestic travelers out of the city, which slows the roads to the beaches and the day-trip destinations. The remaining national holidays of 2026 fall on October 8 and November 1 and on December 8, 9 and 25.
Lima Weather Myths
- “There’s a rainy season.” There isn’t. The normals give about 6 mm of rain a year, most of it drizzle. What there is, from about June to November, is a gray season.
- “It’s a tropical beach city.” The sea off Lima runs around 17 to 20 °C through the year because of the Humboldt current, cold for a city 12 degrees from the equator.
- “Winter is cold.” Not by most visitors’ standards: August, the coolest month, averages highs of 19.2 °C and lows of 15.4 °C. It’s the humidity and the gray, not the temperature, that make it feel chilly.
- “The gray months ruin a trip.” Only if you came for the beach. Lima’s museums, historic center and food are just as good under cloud, and the same mist is what turns the lomas green.
- “Every year is the same.” El Niño years break the pattern, with warmer water and, sometimes, real rain on the coast. If you’re traveling during one, check the forecasts.
The Best Time for Specific Activities
Beaches and swimming
January to March, when the sea is warmest, around 20 °C on average, and the days are reliably sunny. Even then the water is cool by tropical standards, and water-quality ratings change, so check DIGESA’s status for the specific beach.
Surfing
Surfers are in the water off Miraflores in every season, and because the sea stays cool, around 17 °C in winter, a wetsuit is standard: a 90-minute lesson at the Kño Surf School on Playa Makaha includes the board, wetsuit, leash and insurance. Summer is the more comfortable time to learn; the gray months simply mean a thicker wetsuit and a gray sky.
Paragliding
Tandem flights launch from the Parapuerto on the Miraflores clifftop every day from 10 a.m. until sunset, but they depend on the weather and the wind, so no season guarantees a flight. Summer’s clearer skies make for better views; in any month, keep a spare afternoon in case your first attempt is grounded.
The lomas and hiking
July to October for Lomas de Lúcumo and Lomas de Paraíso, and June to November for Lachay, per SERNANP. Outside those windows the hills are dry and brown, and the trips lose their point.
Museums, food and the historic center
Any month. The gray season is arguably the best time for a museum-and-food trip, with fewer beachgoers and no temptation to skip Museo Larco for the sun. Just remember that most museums close on Mondays and Huaca Pucllana on Tuesdays, whatever the season.
Photography
Summer, for clear skies and sunsets as late as about 6:40 p.m. in January. The gray months suit moody street photography in the historic center better than the coast.
The Best Months for Each Kind of Trip
| Trip | Best months | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A stopover before or after Cusco | Any month | Two or three days of museums, the historic center and food work in any weather |
| A beach-and-food holiday | January to March | Summer sun, the warmest sea and long evenings on the coast |
| A food-focused trip | Any month; book early for November 2026 | Restaurants don’t have a season, but the World’s 50 Best ceremony fills tables that week |
| A festival trip | October | The Señor de los Milagros processions and the Día de la Canción Criolla |
| Hiking and nature | July to October | The lomas are green, and the Palomino boats run year-round |
| Fewer crowds | May, June and September to mid-November | Outside summer and the big holidays |
| Photography | January to March | Clear skies and the latest sunsets of the year |
Weather for Day Trips Out of Lima
The trips out of the city have their own seasons. The lomas, including Lachay and Lomas de Lúcumo, are a July-to-October plan and pointless in summer. Pachacamac, a desert site 24 km south of Miraflores, is open to the sun in summer and gray in winter, so bring a hat in summer and a layer in winter; it’s closed on Mondays in every season. The Palomino Islands boats sail all year, as SERNANP recommends, but rough seas can cancel a trip in any month, so book early in your stay. Caral, up the coast and inland along the Supe valley, calls for a hat and water whatever the month. Our guide to the best day trips from Lima has door-to-door times and fees for each.
Crowds, Prices and When to Book
Lima’s busiest periods are the Peruvian summer, from about December to March, and the national holidays, when domestic travel adds to the demand for hotels and flights. The quieter stretches are May and June and the period from September to mid-November, outside the big holidays.
Most foreign visitors plan a few months ahead: in PROMPERÚ’s 2024 survey of foreign tourists in Lima, 55% bought their flights or package one to four months in advance, 22% less than a month ahead and 19% five to eight months ahead. For summer, holiday weekends and the first week of November 2026, book at the earlier end of that range. Hotel rates for foreign tourists don’t include IGV, Peru’s sales tax, for stays of up to 60 days, which our guide to where to stay in Lima explains.
The same survey is a reminder of who else is in town: 27% of foreign visitors to Lima in 2024 lived in the United States, 10% in Chile and 7% in Brazil, and 65% came on vacation, so the northern winter and the Southern Hemisphere summer holidays overlap in Lima’s high season.
What to Pack for Lima’s Weather
From December to April: light, breathable clothes, sunscreen and sunglasses, a hat for the beaches and for day trips such as Caral, and swimwear. Evenings are warm, but a light layer helps in air-conditioned restaurants.
From June to November: layers. Highs around 19 to 21 °C, high humidity and the damp garúa make a sweater or fleece and a light waterproof jacket the most useful things in your bag. You won’t need an umbrella for the drizzle, and you won’t need a heavy coat.
Any time: comfortable walking shoes for the historic center and the clifftop, sun protection even on gray days, and something warmer if you’re heading on to the Andes, where the weather is a different matter altogether.
Timing Lima With the Rest of Peru
Most visitors pass through Lima on the way to Cusco and Machu Picchu, and many time the whole trip around the Andes’ drier months, roughly the middle of the year. That puts Lima in its gray season, which is fine if you plan for it: spend your Lima days on museums, the historic center, food and perhaps the green lomas, and don’t count on a beach afternoon. If you’re traveling in the Peruvian summer instead, Lima is at its best, so give it an extra day. Our Lima itinerary for first-time visitors has one-to-five-day plans for either season.
Best Time to Visit Lima FAQ
What is the best month to visit Lima?
For sunshine, February or March: the mean daily high is 28.0 °C in February and 27.6 °C in March, the sky is usually clear and the sea is warmest. For a balance of decent weather and fewer crowds, April or November. For the green lomas and a festival, October, when the Señor de los Milagros processions take place.
Does it rain in Lima?
Hardly ever. The 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport station give about 6 mm a year, and SENAMHI says Lima gets less than 15 mm a year, mostly as a fine drizzle called garúa in winter. There’s no rainy season, but from June to November the sky is often gray for days at a time. El Niño years are the exception.
Is Lima worth visiting in winter?
Yes, if you come for the museums, the historic center and the food, which are the city’s real strengths. Expect gray skies, highs around 19 to 21 °C and damp mornings. Winter is also when the lomas around Lima turn green, from about July to October, which makes for a good half-day hike.
When is the sea warm enough to swim in Lima?
From January to March, when the average sea temperature is around 20 °C. The water off Lima is cold for its latitude because of the Humboldt current, so even in summer it feels bracing, and in winter it drops to around 17 °C. Check DIGESA’s water-quality status for each beach before you swim.
When does the sun set in Lima?
Between about 5:50 and 6:40 p.m. all year, by our calculation from NOAA’s solar equations, because Lima is only 12 degrees south of the equator. The latest sunsets come in January, around 6:40 p.m., and the earliest in May and June, around 5:51 p.m. From September to mid-October the sun sets at about 6:04 p.m.
When is Lima most crowded?
In the Peruvian summer, from about December to March, and on national holidays such as Holy Week, Fiestas Patrias on July 28 and 29 and the October and November processions. In 2026, the first week of November is also busy, with the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in Lima on November 4.
Related Lima Guides
- Lima, Peru Itinerary for First-Time Visitors: day plans that work in summer and in the gray months.
- Best Day Trips From Lima, Peru: the lomas, Pachacamac and the islands, with the best season for each.
- What to Eat in Lima, Peru: Food Guide: the reason to visit in any month.
- Best Things to Do in Lima, Peru for First-Time Visitors: what to see, indoors and out.
Sources and How We Checked
Event dates, hours, closures and climate figures on this page were checked on September 24, 2026, against the sources listed below. The guide is compiled from them, not from other travel lists, and it claims no first-hand visits. Monthly temperatures are the 1991 to 2020 normals for the Jorge Chávez airport station as published in the climate table we cite, and sunset times are our own calculation from NOAA’s solar equations.
- Climate and sea: SENAMHI on Lima’s climate, SENAMHI on rainfall, SENAMHI’s summer forecast, 1991 to 2020 normals for the Jorge Chávez station (climate table), IGN Atlas of Peru on sea temperatures, NOAA solar calculator
- Beaches and nature: RPP on DIGESA’s beach ratings, DIGESA, SERNANP on Lachay, Lomas de Lúcumo, SERNANP on the Palomino Islands
- Activities: Visit Miraflores on paragliding, Kño Surf School
- Events and holidays: ACI Prensa on the 2026 processions, Peru’s public holidays, 2027 holiday calendar, Andina on the Santa Rosa sanctuary, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, UNESCO on the Historic Centre of Lima
- Visitors: PROMPERÚ, 2024 profile of foreign tourists visiting Lima
Lima Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with PROMPERÚ, the Municipality of Lima or any attraction listed here, and no one paid to be included.
Photo Credits
- Sunset over the Pacific, Miraflores: photo by Águila Resonante, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Garúa over Plaza San Martín: photo by Randal Sheppard, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Miraflores malecón: photo by Mojnsen, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Fog at Playa Makaha, Miraflores: photo by AbrahamMendoza2021, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Lomas de Lachay reserve: photo by Correliebre, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Las Nazarenas church: photo by Herwarth Morales, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Surfers off Miraflores: photo by Christian Haugen, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)