Pucusana

Welcome to the Riviera, Peru-style. Colorful fishing boats jostle for space in the crowded harbor, fantastic cebicherias dish up the day's catch on the waterfront, and expensive holiday houses for Lima's wealthy occupy the hillsides. Pucusana is a gem well-known to locals but undiscovered by many foreign tourists. Arrive in the Peruvian summer (December to March) and you'll find this harbor town packed with vacationing Limenans who flock here for its beautiful setting, tranquil atmosphere, and the freshest seafood around. During the rest of the year you may have the town to yourself. The tiny brown-sand beaches of Las Ninfas and Pucusana Playa lie around the harbor and are good for a dip if you don't mind the boats—the more adventurous can swim (or take a boat ride) to La Isla—the island on the other side of the harbor with another small beach. For a better swimming spot take a five-minute walk around the point to get to the beach of Naplo.

If the chilly waters don't tempt you, stroll through the fishmarket to see the day's catch and stop for a cebiche at one of the tiny stalls on the beach. Afterward walk away from the harbor toward the cliff to watch the waves crash through the Boquerón del Diablo. Balancing things out in the biblical stakes is the Rostro de Cristo, a rock formation on the side of the hill containing the Boquerón said to resemble the profile of Christ. It's a little hard to make out so you may need a local to point it out.