Bosque El Olivar

16th-century olive grove of 1,600 trees, now a park

In the middle of the San Isidro business district, El Bosque El Olivar is a 23-hectare grove of olive trees descended from Spanish saplings planted in 1560. Once a working estate that produced the olive oil for colonial Lima, it became a public park in 1959 and is now one of the most pleasant open spaces in the city.

Footpaths wind between gnarled, sometimes massive trunks under a high canopy. Joggers and dog walkers use it from dawn; in the evening the park fills with families and couples. The Iglesia de la Virgen del Pilar at the southern edge is one of San Isidro's small landmarks. Free, open all day, ringed by some of the most expensive houses in Lima.

things to do sight park san isidro
A story
The grove was planted in 1560 from three Spanish saplings smuggled into Peru by the conquistador Antonio de Rivera — making them among the oldest olive trees in the Americas. The descendants of those three trees still produce a small olive harvest each year, processed by a co-operative in the park.

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