Lima, as a capital city and one of South America’s most populous cities, provides expats and digital nomads with opportunities to play a variety of sports, including even sports like cricket, which you may not have expected to find in Peru.
Whilst I focused on many of the sports I grew up playing and currently still play on the other Lima pages, here is an introduction to a few other sports you can do in Lima.
I will add more sports to this page in the future as I gather more information, but for now, let me introduce mountain biking and tennis in Lima.
Mountain biking
Despite its coastal location, Lima offers serious mountain biking opportunities on Morro Solar in Chorrillos. Read about Morro Solar as a running destination on the Where to Run in Lima page, as the running trails described are actually biking trails.
What are the Morro Solar bike trails like?
It is the descent that mountain bikers come for, but really, the descent of Morro Solar is for downhill bikers, and experienced ones at that, as this video will testify.
My rental mountain bike couldn’t have handled the more technical trails from the summit. Plus, I wouldn’t have had the skills or confidence to fully enjoy them. Thankfully, there are more beginner-friendly mountain biking trails further down the hill. If you are just out for more of a casual bike ride, I would ride up as far as Cristo del Pacífico and explore the trails below there.
The lower slopes of Morro Solar are better suited to novice mountain bikers
Pedalo is a great resource for learning about the various trails on Morro Solar, as well as other mountain biking and downhill biking routes in and around Lima.
How to reach Morro Solar from Barranco
As you approach the foot of Morro Solar from Avenida Malecón Grau, turn off the main road by bearing left to begin the first part of the climb up to the Cristo del Pacífico statue. This stretch of paved road provides sweeping views back along the Lima coastline.
The first part of the climb up Morro Solar is on tarmac
After about ¾ mile/1.1 km, you will reach the turn-off for Cristo del Pacífico. From there, the route to the summit of Morro Solar (called Mirador del Morro and where antennae can be seen) becomes an unpaved road that totals about 1.5 miles/2.4 km in length.
The antennae mark the summit of Morro Solar
Is it safe to bike on Morro Solar?
Pay the same amount of attention you would in other, more remote parts of town. I didn’t feel unsafe, but you can be exposed up there. I was told to make sure I was off the hill before sunset. That said, Morro Solar is very popular with local mountain bikers, particularly in the mornings, as well as those who simply want to enjoy the views.
What sport do you want to play?
Tennis
For those arriving in Lima and fresh from the airport, the sight of tennis courts is your signal that you have arrived in Miraflores - for me, at least. Coming from the airport, it’s likely you will have travelled along the Costa Verde highway before climbing the rampway into Miraflores, where you will pass the Club Terrazas Sports Club and its ten tennis courts. However, given the exclusivity of this private club (with an eye-watering $30,000 joining fee), you will probably want to consider other Lima tennis clubs!
Where are some public tennis courts in Lima?
Thankfully, public tennis courts also exist in Lima. You can find some along the malecón in Miraflores and San Isidro. The latter are part of the Complejo Deportivo Municipal de San Isidro.
Expect difficulty securing a court. You might find a two-week waiting list when booking them online, although Miraflores residents get precedence. It’s my understanding that you need to be a San Isidro resident to play on the tennis courts at the Complejo Deportivo Municipal de San Isidro. This could apply to other municipal courts as well.
Public tennis courts along the malecón in Miraflores
What are some tennis clubs in Lima?
If you take your tennis seriously and plan to be in Peru long-term, consider joining a tennis club. Tennis clubs can be found right across the city, but below are a few options. Many Lima tennis clubs are in fact, sports clubs.
Disclaimer: This is far from an exhaustive list of tennis clubs. I felt I had to omit somewhere like Club de Regatas in Chorillos, which has (I believe) a $100,000 joining fee! The hefty joining and monthly fees of many sports clubs in Lima will be an obvious barrier to playing tennis, but more reasonably priced clubs like Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición exist to make tennis a viable option for your average Lima expat.
Barranco
Barranco Tennis Club
Jesús María
Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición
This club is the only realistic option I know of, given the “mere” S/5,000 joining fee and S/200 monthly membership fee. You don’t need to pay each time you play tennis either. Membership at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición gives you more than just tennis (as must be the case with other clubs), as your membership includes the use of their gym, swimming pool and other facilities, as well as discounted rates on sports coaching. Six-month memberships are also available.
Some of the 17 clay courts at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición
Federación Peruana de Tenis
Magdalena
Lima Cricket & Football Club
Surco
Surco Tenis
Lima tennis social media groups
I’ve been told that there are several WhatsApp and Facebook Lima tennis groups, so it’s a case of knowing the right people to invite you to them, but I at least have two to share.
Regardless of whether you’re looking to play tennis or not, all expats and digital nomads in Lima should consider joining the Lima Community WhatsApp group.
From the community, you can join the Tenis y Pádel group (the two groups recently merged). It is not such an active group, and there is little discussion about meeting up to play tennis, but it could be a good starting point to learn about the tennis scene in Lima.
As for Facebook, La Confraternidad del Tenis is one group to join.
Tennis-related Spanish vocabulary
And finally, a few pieces of tennis-related vocabulary specific to Latin America/Peru to get you started with finding a court in Peru:
una cancha = court
la superficie = surface
arcilla = clay
Laykold = hardcourt (Laykold is a brand of tennis hardcourt)
Do you have anything to share about these sports? What other Lima sports should be mentioned here?
What sport do you want to play?