
An Insider's Guide to Black-Owned Lima
Black business owner Josselyn Solano’s guide to the best of Black-owned Lima.
The world’s largest fountain complex, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Magic Water Circuit is a spectacle to behold. Some of the water features are interactive—you may get a light misting—making it a hit with kids and adults alike. The Maze of the Dream (Laberinto del Ensueno) invites visitors to follow a labyrinth of vertical walls of water to an inner circle. Fountain of Harmony (Fuente de la Armonía) is a pyramid with sides formed by jets of water and Magic Fountain (Fuente Mágica) is the park’s most powerful fountain, with a jet shooting a stream of water 262 feet (80 meters) into the air.
Travelers have many options for exploring the Magic Water Circuit. Private and group tours may be combined with visits to other Lima attractions, including Larco Museum, with its important pre-Colombian art collection, and the nearby pre-Inca archaeological site at Pachacámac.
The water circuit is in Parque de la Reserva, a park enclosed by Av. Arequipa and Paseo de la República. The city’s electric express bus, El Metropolitano, makes a stop at Estadio Nacional, which is right by the park.
The Magic Water Circuit is open Wednesday–Sunday, 3pm–10:30pm. While open during the day, the best time to experience the circuit is after sunset when the colors are most dramatic. Additionally, Fantasy Fountain (Fuente de la Fantasía), the park’s 390-feet (119-meter) showpiece fountain lights up with a special laser, water, and music show at 7:15pm, 8:15pm, and 9:30pm.
Inside a tunnel connecting the two halves of the park is an exhibition space where you can learn about how the water reaches the complex and the interesting challenges the city faced when it built its intricate urban water system.