Peru Has Not One, but Two Tours Dedicated to Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Corner of Colon and Diego Ferre streets in Miraflores, Lima, frequent streets in the works by Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Photo by the author, used with permission.
Fans of Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa‘s books are probably familiar with the names of certain streets and parks from the Lima district of Miraflores that appear in his stories, such as Ocharan, Colon, Diego Ferre, Juan Fanning, Salazar Park, and Kennedy Park, among others.
That's why in 2011, the Municipality of Miraflores started a touristic route known as “Literatour“, inspired by the work of Vargas Llosa, who lived there for a time during his younger years:
‘Literatur: la ruta de Mario Vargas Llosa’. Se trata de un circuito que une parques y avenidas emblemáticas […] inicia en el parque Kennedy, el mismo que está ubicado al lado de la iglesia principal de Miraflores, luego continúa por donde se encontraba el parque Salazar y donde ahora se encuentra el concurrido centro comercial Larcomar.
Más adelante, el circuito sigue por la Casa de Porras Barrenechea (ahora convertida en Instituto Cultural), donde Vargas Llosa trabajó seleccionando los libros. Para terminar, se continúa por la concurrida avenida Larco, y el pasaje Champagnat, donde se encontraba el colegio del mismo nombre donde estudió el literato.
“Literatour: the Route of Mario Vargas Llosa.” It's a tour that goes by parks and emblematic streets […] that starts at Kennedy Park, located next to the main church of Miraflores, then goes all the way up to where Salazar Park used to be and where the much frequented Larcomar Shopping Mall now stands.
The tour goes on to [Peruvian diplomat, historian and politician] Porras Barrenechea's house (now a cultural institute), where Vargas Llosa once worked curating books. Lastly, it passes by crowded Larco Avenue and the Champagnat passageway, where a school the man of letters attended and now bears his name used to be.
According to the website of the Municipality of Miraflores, to organize the tour:
[…] la Municipalidad de Miraflores desarrolló una investigación literaria e histórica que permite involucrar a los ciudadanos con el mundo literario de Vargas Llosa, y a la vez conocer un poco más sobre la historia de la ciudad, al recorrer sus principales calles.
[…] the Municipality of Miraflores carried out a literary and historical investigation with the aim of allowing citizens to get involved with Vargas Llosa's literary world, and at the same time get people more acquainted with the history of the city by passing through its main streets.
This YouTube video shows images from the sites along the Mario Vargas Llosa Literatour:
On Twitter, people have shared information about the Miraflores tour, equally called the Mario Vargas Llosa Literatur and simply Literatour:
Lima ofrece un tour que recorre los pasos de Vargas Llosa https://t.co/DPT3L2i1FC Un Literatour inspirado en el premio Nobel de Literatura…
— Fabulosa El Tocuyo (@Fabulosa107) 25 de noviembre de 2015
Lima offers a tour that follows the footsteps of [Mario] Vargas Llosa. A Literatour inspired in the Nobel prize awarded…
En el marco de la 36ª Feria del Libro Ricardo Palma, se han programado 4 fechas del Literatour Mario Vargas Llosa: https://t.co/QB9ZudmZUm
— Muni de Miraflores (@MuniMiraflores) 24 de noviembre de 2015
As part of the 36th Ricardo Palma Book Fair, four events for the Mario Vargas Llosa Literatour have been scheduled.
#LITERATOUR Mario Vargas Llosa https://t.co/BHCkVqYZCz
— Carolina Leal (@Carolina_LealR) 20 de noviembre de 2015
Article excerpt: I can't help writing about Miraflores, Vargas Llosa once said . Discover the nostalgic tour that gets into the modern…
Tweet: Mario Vargas Llosa Literatour
Last year, one edition of the tour included a specialist in sign language for hearing-impaired people:
Acompañando el literatour Ruta Mario Vargas Llosa inclusivo @MuniMiraflores #SemanaInternacionalDeLaPersonaSorda pic.twitter.com/hBQxwhI2Cx
— Susana Stiglich (@sustiwa) 23 de septiembre de 2015
With the inclusive Mario Vargas Llosa Literatour. #InternationalWeekoftheDeaf
Miraflores isn't the only place with a tour inspired by Vargas Llosa. Arequipa also recently launched one that includes guided visits to Mario Vargas Llosa Regional Library and his personal library as well as visits to the House Museum where the author, who just turned 80, was born:
Entre las majestuosas fachadas de sillar que dan a Arequipa el nombre de “Ciudad Blanca”, la travesía recorrerá el centro histórico de la urbe para visitar la Biblioteca Regional Mario Vargas Llosa, y la biblioteca personal y la casa museo del último escritor con vida del “boom” de la novela latinoamericana.
La ruta Vargas Llosa es la primera propuesta turística de Arequipa enfocada en la literatura, y será una alternativa a otros recorridos más populares, entre ellos las visitas al imponente cañón del Colca, punto ideal para avistar cóndores, la campiña, las picanterías y la escalada al volcán Misti, que custodia la capital [del departamento].
Among the majestic [white stone] sillar facades that make Arequipa known as the “White City,” the tour will go through its historic center to visit the Regional Library named after Mario Vargas Llosa, his personal library and the House Museum of the last living writer from the Latin American literary “boom.”
The Vargas Llosa route is the first touristic project focused on literature in Arequipa, and will be an alternative to other more popular tours, such as the visits to the impressive Colca Canyon, an ideal spot to catch sight of condors; the countryside; the picanterías [restaurants serving spicy dishes]; and the climb up Misti volcano which looms over the [department's] capital.
Rommel Arce, the library manager, said the aim of the tour is to boost the number of visits to cultural centers dedicated to the author. The House Museum not long ago was restored and now allows visitors to take a virtual tour through Vargas Llosa's life milestones with pictures, videos and even a hologram of the author himself.