Desamparados Station

In front of you is one of the most elegant façades in the centre, and it isn't a palace: it's a railway station. Behind it runs the Rímac, the river that gave the city its name, and in the distance rises San Cristóbal hill.

1An inherited name

The station is named after the church of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados, Our Lady of the Forsaken, a 17th-century Jesuit church that stood right next door. The church was pulled down in 1937, but its name lived on at the platform.

2A railway to the roof of the world

From here departed the Central Railway, the line climbing from the coast to the highlands of Huancayo. Construction began in 1870 under the American entrepreneur Henry Meiggs. It is an extraordinary piece of engineering: in a few hours the train climbed from sea level to almost 4,800 metres, through bridges, tunnels and switchbacks.

The current building was completed in 1912 and was the first public work of the Peruvian architect Rafael Marquina, who would later work on Plaza San Martín.

In 2008 the state turned the station into the House of Peruvian Literature. Where people once bought tickets to the Andes, visitors now explore rooms devoted to Vallejo, Arguedas and Vargas Llosa.

3What to look for

• The clock high on the façade, a must for any station.
• The giant pilasters dividing the façade into five bays.
• The Art Nouveau skylight of coloured glass, visible if you peek into the hall.