Chilca District: Baroque Church, Lagoons and Fig Tradition

Chilca District brings together religious history in the town center with lagoons, a beach and a well-established fig tradition across the district. The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Chilca and the Plaza de Armas give the center a distinct cultural focus. When planning your trip, you can consider whether history and religious festivals or landscapes, water and regional food culture should shape your stay. These interests offer a useful starting point for searching for a holiday apartment.

The church and plaza as landmarks in the town center

The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Chilca is a Baroque religious building whose construction began in 1718. Its location on the Plaza de Armas connects the church with the town’s historic center. The Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Chilca is also located on the plaza, at Jr. San Francisco 356. Six bells, the “Campanas de Chilca,” belong to the church; the oldest apparently dates from 1727. The qualification matters: the year for this bell is stated as apparent, not as an indisputable date.

The Plaza de Armas is of historic value and serves as a central meeting point for visitors. A route description from the plaza to the church gives a distance of 10 meters, or about five minutes on foot along a paved route. The religious building, bells and plaza are therefore not just individual historical details, but provide a tangible cultural landmark in the town center. If you are particularly interested in architecture and religious history, this focus is easy to distinguish from the natural and coastal attractions elsewhere in the district.

Figs, regional produce and festivals

Chilca is known for its abundant production of figs and pomegranates. Both are grown using the traditional “holladas” techniques, and the cultivation can also be seen from the Pan-American Highway. Figs also feature in local liqueur production. The culinary theme therefore extends beyond individual dishes: agriculture, traditional growing methods and local processing go hand in hand, making the fruit a distinctive part of the district’s character.

The events calendar offers its own highlights. The Festival del Higo takes place in February. The 38th edition of the Festival Internacional del Higo was announced for 2026; it includes food areas and fig products. Another event is the festival of the Virgen de la Asunción de María on August 15 at the church. This established tradition includes religious activities, fairs and tastings of typical dishes. These dates differ significantly for travel planning: the fig festival takes center stage in February, while the August event is associated with the church festival.

Lagoons and beach in the district

In Salinas, within Chilca District, lie Laguna La Encantada and Laguna La Mellicera. At Laguna La Encantada, possible activities include mud baths, swimming, enjoying the scenery and photography. Mud bathing is also one of the possible activities at Laguna La Mellicera. The comparison helps with choosing what to focus on: a wider range of options is listed for La Encantada, while mud bathing is the main activity mentioned for La Mellicera.

Playa Punta Yaya is a beach destination in the district; it is also known as Playa Yaya and Playa Las Salinas and has an average length of 1.1 kilometers. The route description from the Plaza de Armas to Laguna La Encantada gives a distance of 4.6 kilometers along a paved road and a driving time of about 12 minutes. A route description dated April 5, 2025, for Playa Punta Yaya gives a paved connection of 1.5 kilometers and a driving time of about three minutes. These are different route descriptions from the same plaza and provide concrete reference points for planning.

Choose the focus of your accommodation

When searching for a holiday apartment, it is worth first deciding what kind of stay you want. The plaza and church provide a cultural landmark in the town center; the lagoons, beach and agricultural tradition describe other facets of the district. The routes listed above provide distances and travel times from the plaza. Use them as a guide for your plans, and check event dates if attending a festival is important to your trip.

Visitors interested in local culture will find several tangible points of interest in the Baroque church, the bells and the different festival dates. Those looking for scenery and possible water activities can compare the two lagoons based on the activities listed for each. Fig cultivation and regional products add a culinary dimension to both perspectives. This makes it possible to choose where to stay according to which side of Chilca you would like to discover more closely.

Discover more destinations

Comas, Santa Cruz De Flores, La Molina, Miraflores, Santiago De Surco, Chontay, Lurigancho-Chosica, Viñac

For the main travel overview: Lima.