That Parque Principal the beating heart of the city

Chiclayo is teeming with people and has a green heart that beats above all in its Parque Principal, a rectangular space that the inhabitants of the so-called City of Friendship have 'adopted', choosing this urban eden of towering palm trees as a meeting place between the streets of San José, Elías Aguirre, Cristóbal Colón and, of course, the Cathedral so dear to Pope Leo XIV: It is located at the eastern end of the park, has an unmistakable neoclassical style, a façade the colour of the sun and a beautiful atrium in which the polished floor gleams, just as the many works of sacred art stand out when plucked from the morning light (you can stay at the Hotel Santa Rosa, while for lunch the Restaurante El Trébol is considered the city's historic venue). A tender place to visit is also the Fabrica San Roque where thousands of King Kong, multi-layered biscuits filled with white chocolate, pineapple jam and peanuts, are baked daily. Nearby Lambayeque with the towers of the Church of San Pedro and its Plaza de Armas, together with the baroque Municipalidad building and the typical dish called seco de cabrito a la norteña, made from goat meat, is also worth a day trip