Entertainment in Peru
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A
7 Angelitos
This tiny hillside haunt is the city’s unofficial hipster lounge and late-night backup: when everything else has closed and the sun has come up, knock on the door. Happy hours are 7:30pm to 9:30pm and 11pm to 11:30pm.
reviewed
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B
Fallen Angel
This ultrafunky lounge redefines kitsch with glitter balls, fake fur and even bathtub-cum-aquarium tables complete with live goldfish. It isn’t cheap, but the decor really is worth seeing and the occasional theme parties held here are legendary.
reviewed
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C
Muse
Known as a good place to start your night out, this restaurant lounge, a longtime Cuzco hangout, has very cool staff and live music in the evenings. Food includes good vegetarian options.
reviewed
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D
Nikoro
A chic bar that goes through spates of being really popular or really dead. If it’s lively, there’s nowhere better for a beer to watch sunset on the river. Go down the left-hand set of steps from Pevas to get there.
reviewed
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E
O'Murphys
- Lima, Peru
- Entertainment › Pub
This Irish pub has - sadly - no Irish beer or much ale choice at all. It's nonetheless popular and less sardine-can-like than many of the hole-in-the-wall bars that abound in central Miraflores.
reviewed
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F
Teatro Kusikay
Modern dance, wild costumes and ancient culture collide in Cuzco’s own Broadway-style spectacular, which is highly recommended by all who see it.
reviewed
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G
Stonewasi Taberna
This is the place to see and be seen in Tarapoto. The whole intersection of Lamas and La Cruz transforms each evening into a cruising scene, with several good people-watching restaurants and bars. Stonewasi is the pick of the bunch and lays out streetside tables where punters and mototaxi drivers throng nightly to the sound of international rock and house music. Check out the path leading to one of the entryways – it’s made entirely of conch-shell fossils.
reviewed
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H
El Circuito Mágico del Agua
This indulgent series of illuminated fountains is so over-the-top it can’t help but induce stupefaction among even the most hardened traveling cynic. A dozen different fountains – all splendiferously illuminated – are capped, at the end, by a laser light show at the 120m-long Fuente de la Fantasía (Fantasy Fountain). The whole display is set to a medley of tunes comprised of everything from Peruvian waltzes to ABBA. Has to be seen to be believed.
reviewed
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I
Mythology
The iconic nightspot in an iconic party town, Mythology advertises itself as ‘only for gods’; whether you will feel god-like the morning after is debatable. Early in the night it’s dominated by rafting groups watching videos of their exploits on the big screen. After midnight the dance floor dependably goes wild, to the sounds of ’80s classics, Latino dance favorites and the guy next to the DJ whose job is apparently to shout encouragement to the sweating hordes.
reviewed
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J
El Tambo Bar
If you’re hankerin’ to shake your groove-thang, this is the most popular disco in town. Fashionable with both extranjeros (foreigners) and Peruvians, the music swings from techno-cumbia to Top 20, to salsa to reggae to most things in between – all in a space of 20 minutes. Occasional live bands also play. Although there’s no cover charge, you may want to consult your accountant before buying a round of drinks: the prices are astronomical.
reviewed
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K
Caos
At last – a nightclub just as Miami Vice tells us a nightclub should be. Make your entrance by sashaying down a neon-illuminated transparent Perspex stairway whose innards are home to some unfortunate, sensorily overstimulated carp. Order a drink at the massive, garish bar while admiring the Inca-styled water feature before hitting the shiny dance floor. The crowd here tends to very young locals, and music is a mixed bag.
reviewed
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L
Ukuku’s Pub
The most consistently popular nightspot in town, Ukuku’s plays a winning combination of crowd pleasers – Latin and Western rock, reggae and reggaetón (a blend of Puerto Rican bomba, dancehall and hip-hop), salsa, hip-hop etc – and often hosts live bands. Usually full to bursting after midnight with as many Peruvians as foreign tourists, it’s good, sweaty, dance-a-thon fun. Happy hour is 8pm to 10:30pm.
reviewed
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M
Ayahuasca
Lima’s of-the-moment lounge resides in a stunning restored casona full of Moorish architectural flourishes. Not that anyone’s looking at the architecture – everyone’s checking out everyone else, in addition to the hyperreal decor that includes a dangling mobile made with costumes used in Ayacucho folk dances. There’s a long list of contemporary pisco cocktails, made with infusions of purple corn and coca leaves.
reviewed
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N
Huaraz Satyricon
This place may just be the world’s most perfect little cinema. A small and intimate space that has snug couches, fresh popcorn, snacks and espresso, it shows top-quality international and repertoire flicks (all with English subtitles) on a private projection screen. Look out for flyers around town advertising the changing schedule. Note that the theater may be shut for periods during low season.
reviewed
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O
Smooth Jazz Bar
Absolutely nothing like its name implies, this tiny hole in the wall (holding 25 at a pinch) wins hearts for its phone-book-like list of drinks: three pages of cocktails and five different kinds of alcoholic hot tea are just the beginning. The music videos blasting from the TV in the corner are more likely to be Rod Stewart than Miles Davis, but 34 different piscos later, who cares?
reviewed
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P
Los 13 Buhos
Located upstairs from Makondos, the 13 Owls is a chilled-out bar that is the most popular place in town to kick back and chat in the early evening while listening to excellent, funky sounds. Warm lighting flickers over graffiti-covered walls and climbing paraphernalia clings to the rafters, while couches help you ease into the evening’s frivolities over a cold Crystal.
reviewed
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Q
Dóminos Megadisco
If you want to see how the locals get down, this is the place for you. Multi-leveled mayhem, a karaoke lounge, a dance floor that explodes to salsa, reggaetón (a blend of Puerto Rican bomba, dancehall and hip-hop) and rock, and cuba libre (rum and cola) by the jug: it all adds up to a great night, but it’s not for the faint-hearted.
reviewed
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aKaesH
Currently the most popular watering hole in town, aKaesH, roughly translated to 'here it is,' gets busy most nights with wall-to-wall gringos and well-to-do Peruvians. They have a well-stocked bar and flashy retro styling with changing nightly events, including Tuesday night movies, as well as the occasional live band. Look out for flyers around town.
reviewed
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R
Juanito’s
- Lima, Peru
- Entertainment › Bar
This worn-in woody bar – it was a leftist hangout in the 1960s – is one of the mellowest haunts in Barranco. Decorated with a lifetime’s worth of theater posters, this is where the writerly set arrives to swig chilcano de pisco and deconstruct the state of humanity. There’s no sign; look for the crowded room lined with wine bottles.
reviewed
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S
La Alternativa
This ‘alternative’ hole-in-the-wall bar is more like a medieval pharmacy than a bar – shelves are stacked with dusty bottles containing uvachado and various homemade natural concoctions based on soaking roots, lianas etc in cane liquor. All the potent Amazonian tonics and brews are for the tasting – but not for the faint-hearted.
reviewed
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T
Kamikase
Kamikase is an old, intimate bar that doesn’t offer free drinks, but does have a disarmingly large variety of music that can switch from seductive salsa to live música folklórica (folkloric music) in an instant. Happy hour runs from 8pm to 10pm, and there’s often a live show beginning at 10:45pm.
reviewed
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U
Indigo
Indigo is the perfect bar to warm up for a big night out, with fresh Thai and Peruvian food (mains from S15), good coffee, games, hookah pipes and famous mojitos. Genuinely friendly staff, comfy couches, an open fire and a seriously cool circus vibe (there are swings!) make it hard to move on. Highly recommended.
reviewed
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V
Cross Keys
If you are thirsty for an Old Speckled Hen, visit the most established expat and traveler watering hole in town. This typical British pub has all the trappings, with leather barstools and dark wood. As well as a long list of imported beer, it offers good-value comfort food.
reviewed
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W
Café Bar Habana
Boisterous Cuban proprietor Alexi García and his Peruvian wife, Patssy Higuchi, operate this homey drinking establishment that serves a highly delicious mojito (a cocktail of mint, rum and club soda). The couple, both of whom are artists, sometimes display their works in the adjacent gallery.
reviewed
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X
Positive Vibrations
- Puno, Peru
- Entertainment › Bar
This rock and reggae travelers’ haunt is always jumping. The enthusiastic young staff all dream of being DJs someday, and friendly service lives up to the promise of the bar’s name. The eye-popping, UV-painted toilet is a little hard on the cortexes by the end of happy hour, but nobody’s complaining.
reviewed