Lima begins in a desert, and an old country house in the Rimac district is as good a place as any to start understanding it. The Quinta and mill of Presa, a colonial estate of the eighteenth century, stands in the oldest part of the city, close to the river that gave the capital its name. The Rimac, a thin stream when it reaches the sea, brings snowmelt from the high Andes, and the whole city depends on it. Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 on the banks of this river, and for three centuries it was the capital of Spanish South America, so colonial houses, courtyards and balconies fill the old quarter.
The ride that begins here follows a very different, much older road. The Qhapaq Nan, the Inca road system, was a network of tens of thousands of kilometres of paved paths, stairways and rope bridges, linking the Andes from Colombia to Chile and Argentina. Relay runners called chasquis carried messages along it, and llama trains carried goods. Sections of the road were listed as a World Heritage property in 2014, and the ride visits a stretch near San Juan de Tantaranche and Huaro, in the Andean foothills inland from Lima.
Leaving the city is the first test. Lima is vast, with traffic that is dense, loud and inventive, with buses stopping anywhere, drivers who treat lane markings as suggestions, and a constant honking. The best times to start are early in the morning or on a Sunday. Once you are out on the Carretera Central, the main road up the Rimac valley, the air clears and the road climbs between bare brown mountains, with terraces and cactus on the slopes. Landslides, called huaicos, can block the road in the summer rains between January and March, and trucks and buses crowd the bends.
In winter, from June to September, a grey mist called garua covers Lima and the coast, while the Andes above are bright and dry. Altitude is a real factor on this ride, so take it slowly and drink water. Fuel stations are abundant in Lima and the larger towns on the road, but become scarce higher up, so fill up before you leave. Peruvian food is a highlight: ceviche, grilled chicken and the fruit juices from the markets, and the tiny cafes of the mountain villages serve soups and fried trout.