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Stacked human femurs and skulls arranged in a circular stone pit beneath the San Francisco monastery in Lima
Culture

Lima Catacombs Tour: 6 Options Compared (And the Ticket Trap)

Written by: Peru Trip Insider Team Content Last Updated July 2026 14 min read
Price
From $19
Per person
Duration
2 to 4 hrs
Half-day
Season
Year-round
Open daily
Top Pick
$35
Lima Experience
See Top TourCompare AlternativesView Comparison Table

Six Lima catacombs tours compared on price, pickup and one detail most listings bury: whether the San Francisco entrance ticket is actually included. The cheapest tour on this page does not include it.

What You Should Know

  • Check whether the catacombs ticket is actually included before you book. The $19 tour excludes the San Francisco entrance fee, and the $20 tour includes it only on its Premium tier, so the headline price is not always what you pay.
  • You cannot visit the catacombs alone. Access is by guided visit only, run by the monastery museum itself, and it takes roughly 45 minutes underground once you are inside.
  • Photography is not permitted in the ossuary. Every tour walks you through the same bone galleries, and none of them can get you a photo of the famous circular well of femurs and skulls.
  • Go on a weekday if you can. The crypt is a dead end, so entering and exiting groups meet in the same narrow passages, and guides visibly speed up when the site is busy. Saturdays are the worst for this.

Lima Catacombs Tours

A Lima catacombs tour takes you underground beneath the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, where an estimated 25,000 people were buried before the city's cemeteries opened. The San Francisco catacombs are the only crypt in Lima open to visitors, and every tour on this page ends up in the same ossuary. The bones were later sorted by type and arranged into the geometric patterns the site is known for, including a circular well of stacked femurs and skulls. The complex was built between 1657 and 1674 and survived the earthquakes that levelled much of colonial Lima.

Based on how these tours run in practice, the important thing to understand before booking is that you cannot enter the crypt independently. Access is by guided visit only, and the tours below bundle that visit into a wider walk or drive through the historic centre. The six options compared here run $19 to $69, and the single biggest difference between them is not length or group size: it is whether the entrance ticket is included in the price you see. This page sorts out which is which, along with pickup, duration and how much of the historic centre of Lima each itinerary covers.

Ancient catacombs in Lima containing human skulls and bones arranged in a stone crypt
Ancient catacombs in Lima containing human skulls and bones, offering a glimpse into the country's cultural history.

Best Lima Catacombs Tours at a Glance

Best ForTourPrice
Best overallLima Experience: Lima City Tour and CatacombsFrom $35
Best budgetInca Trilogy Tours: Journey Through TimeFrom $20
Best with hotel pickupPeruvian Worldview: City, Central Market & CatacombsFrom $45
Best for eveningsPeruvian Worldview: Lima by Night & Water ShowFrom $59
Best small groupVista Adventures: Downtown, Catacombs & MirafloresFrom $69
Ticket always includedLima Experience, Peruvian Worldview or Vista AdventuresFrom $35
Our Top Pick

Lima Experience: Lima City Tour and Catacombs

From $35.00  ·  4.9 ⭐ (234 reviews)

The entrance ticket to the church and catacombs is included in the headline price, and at two hours it is the only option that does not wrap the crypt inside a half-day itinerary.

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Best Lima Catacombs Tours: Side-by-Side Comparison

Tour OperatorPriceOnline RatingCatacombs TicketCapacityDurationDays OfferedTransportation IncludedFood IncludedExtras
Top Rated
Lima Experience
Lima City Tour and Catacombs
Book Now		 From $35.00 ⭐ 4.9 (234 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Included Max 15 2 hours Daily No, meet at Jirón Amazonas 100, Lima Centro Yes, Peruvian churros Certified guide; English and Spanish
Inca Trilogy Tours
A Journey Through Time: Historic Center & Catacombs
Book Now		 From $20.00 ⭐ 4.9 (365 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Premium tier only Max 15 4 hours Daily Premium tier only; Essential meets at Gran Hotel Bolívar No, lunch excluded Tiered pricing; English and Spanish
Peruvian Worldview Tours
Lima City, Central Market & Catacombs
Book Now		 From $45.00 ⭐ 4.9 (295 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Included Max 15 4 hours Daily Yes, hotel pickup and drop-off Not specified Adds the Central Market; official guide
Peruvian Worldview
Lima by Night including Catacombs & Water Show
Book Now		 From $59.00 ⭐ 4.9 (305 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Included Max 15 4 hours Daily, evening Yes, hotel pickup Not specified Magic Water Circuit tickets; English, Spanish and Portuguese
Lima Walking Tour
Historic Lima & Catacombs with Optional Pickup
Book Now		 From $19.00 ⭐ 4.9 (167 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Not included, pay at the door Max 12 4 hours Daily Optional pickup; meets at Gran Hotel Bolívar No All fees and taxes; English and Spanish
Vista Adventures
Historic Downtown, Catacombs & Miraflores
Book Now		 From $69.00 ⭐ 4.8 (105 reviews)
Read Reviews		 Included Max 12 4 hours Daily Yes, air-conditioned vehicle and pickup Bottled water on board Adds Miraflores; smallest group with transport

ℹ️ All tours and information were personally reviewed by our team on July 30, 2026. Prices and availability may change, so always confirm with the operator before booking.

Option 1 · Compare

Compare the Top Lima Catacombs Tours

The six most-booked Lima catacombs tours side by side. Browse live options, then book the top-rated tour directly below.

Option 2 · Book

Book the Most Popular Option Directly

Live pricing and dates for the top-rated Lima Experience city tour and catacombs. Pick your date below.

  • Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
  • Entrance ticket to the church and catacombs included
  • Certified guide in English and Spanish
  • Peruvian churros included
  • Two hours, the shortest option here
  • No hotel pickup: meet in Lima Centro

We may earn a commission on bookings made through this link — at no extra cost to you.

What to Expect on a Lima Catacombs Tour

What typically happens is that the underground section, the reason you booked, turns out to be the shortest and most tightly controlled part of the day. Everything else on these tours is built around it.

  1. 01Start

    Meeting Point or Pickup

    Three of the six collect you from your hotel. The others meet in the historic centre, usually at the Gran Hotel Bolívar on Plaza San Martín or on Jirón Amazonas.

  2. 02First hour

    The Historic Centre

    Most itineraries walk the Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace and the colonial balconies before reaching the monastery, since the crypt visit is timed.

  3. 03Arrival

    Basilica and Convent of San Francisco

    The complex was built between 1657 and 1674. Tours cover the church, the cloisters and the Seville tilework, and most include the convent library, which holds around 25,000 volumes in Spanish, English and Quechua.

  4. 04~45 min

    Into the Ossuary

    Guided access only, in groups, along narrow brick passages. The crypt served as a cemetery until 1810, by which point an estimated 25,000 people had been buried here, with bones later sorted by type into the geometric arrangements the site is known for.

  5. 05Underground

    The Circular Well

    The centrepiece is a round pit of femurs and skulls laid in concentric rings. Photography is not permitted anywhere in the catacombs, so this is one to look at rather than capture.

  6. 062 to 4 hrs

    Finish

    Walking tours end near where they started. The tours with transport continue to the Central Market, Miraflores or the Magic Water Circuit depending on which you booked.

Our experience (the ticket trap): This is where these tours really differ. Two of the six either exclude the San Francisco entrance fee or gate it behind a Premium upgrade, so the cheapest listing is not always the cheapest day. Adult admission is small, commonly quoted between S/10 and S/20 depending on the source, but the surprise at the door is avoidable.

Our experience (the passages are tight): Most people don't realise the crypt is a dead end rather than a loop, so the group ahead of you comes back through the same single-file passage you are walking in. Ceilings are low in places and the floor is uneven. On busy afternoons this is what makes guides hurry everyone along, which is the real argument for an early weekday slot.

Best Catacombs Tours in Lima

We'd separate these six on two things, and neither is the crypt itself: all of them visit the same ossuary, because there is only one set of catacombs in Lima worth touring. What actually differs is how much city comes attached and whether the entrance fee is in the price you see.

1
Best Overall

Lima Experience: Lima City Tour and Catacombs

The only tour here that treats the catacombs as the main event rather than a stop on a half-day loop. Two hours, entrance ticket included in the price, a certified bilingual guide and Peruvian churros along the way. You meet in Lima Centro rather than being collected, which is the tradeoff for the shorter format.

Check availability
2
Best Budget

Inca Trilogy Tours: A Journey Through Time

The most-reviewed option on this page at 365 ratings, and a four-hour walk through the historic centre. Read the tier carefully before booking: the catacombs entrance and the hotel pickup are both included only on the Premium option, so the $20 headline is the Essential version.

Check availability
3
Best With Hotel Pickup

Peruvian Worldview: City, Central Market & Catacombs

Four hours with pickup and drop-off, an official guide and the catacombs ticket included, plus a stop at the Central Market that the other daytime tours skip. The most straightforward option if you do not want to navigate to a meeting point in the historic centre.

Check availability
4
Best for Evenings

Peruvian Worldview: Lima by Night & Water Show

Pairs the crypt with the Magic Water Circuit, the floodlit fountain park that only works after dark, with both tickets included. Guides work in Portuguese as well as English and Spanish. The catacombs stay open into the evening, so this is a genuine alternative rather than a compromise.

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5
Best Small Group

Vista Adventures: Downtown, Catacombs & Miraflores

The most expensive tour here at $69, capped at 12, with an air-conditioned vehicle, bottled water and the entrance ticket included. It also covers Miraflores, so it works as a first-day orientation to the city rather than a historic-centre tour alone.

Check availability

What matters more than price is how much of a city tour you want wrapped around 45 minutes underground. If the catacombs are the reason you are booking, the two-hour option is the tightest fit. If you want a half-day of Lima with the crypt inside it, the pickup-included tours are better value than they first look once the ticket is accounted for.

A Short History of the San Francisco Catacombs

The catacombs are older than the building above them, and the arrangement that makes them famous is younger than most visitors assume. Worth knowing before you go down.

1546Founded

The Franciscan order began work on the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, which included the crypt beneath it. The complex grew into the largest religious site in colonial Lima.

1657 to 1674Rebuilt

The church and convent standing today were constructed in this period. The design held up through the earthquakes that flattened much of colonial Lima, which is why the baroque facade and cloisters survive.

Until 1810In use as a cemetery

The crypt served as one of Lima's principal burial grounds for most of the Spanish colonial era. An estimated 25,000 people were interred before burials there were stopped and cemeteries opened outside the city.

1943Rediscovered

The sealed ossuary was found again and excavated over the following years. The bones were sorted by type and arranged into the geometric patterns visitors see today, which are a modern arrangement rather than a colonial one.

Mid-20th centuryOpened to visitors

The catacombs reopened as part of the convent museum. Sources differ on the exact year, with 1947 and 1950 both commonly cited.

TodayGuided access only

The museum runs all visits in timed groups, and the site closed temporarily during the pandemic before reopening. Photography underground remains prohibited.

Dates for the closure and the museum opening vary between sources: some give 1808 rather than 1810 for the end of burials. The 1546 founding and the 25,000 burial estimate are consistent across every source we checked.

How Much Does a Lima Catacombs Tour Cost?

Lima catacombs tours cost $19 to $69 per person. Walking tours that meet in the historic centre run $19 to $35, while tours with hotel pickup and a vehicle cost $45 to $69. Adult admission to the San Francisco catacombs is a small amount on top, commonly quoted between S/10 and S/20, and only some tours include it, so check the ticket column before comparing headline prices. The main tradeoff is that the two cheapest listings are the two that leave it out.

Budget$19 to $20

Four-hour walking tours of the historic centre meeting at a fixed point. Neither includes the catacombs ticket as standard: one excludes it entirely, the other bundles it only into its Premium tier.

Mid-range$35 to $45

The sweet spot. Either a focused two-hour tour with the entrance ticket and churros included, or a four-hour city tour with hotel pickup, the Central Market and the ticket covered.

Premium$59 to $69

Evening tours pairing the crypt with the Magic Water Circuit, or a small-group day tour adding Miraflores with an air-conditioned vehicle. Entrance tickets included in both.

We'd shortlist the $35 option for most people. Once you add the entrance fee to the two cheapest tours the real gap narrows to a few dollars, and what you get for it is a guide focused on the crypt and the historic centre rather than a four-hour walk you may not want.

Who Should Skip the Catacombs?

Most visitors manage the ossuary without difficulty, but it is a 17th-century burial structure rather than a purpose-built museum, and a few groups genuinely should not go down. Worth checking this list before you book rather than at the entrance.

  • Wheelchair users, on most tours. The underground route involves steps and narrow passages, and our top pick states outright that it is not suitable for wheelchair users or anyone with a baby stroller. One operator on this page does advertise wheelchair-accessible transport and touring, so ask before booking rather than assuming.
  • Anyone with significant mobility limits. Every tour here is marked suitable for all fitness levels, which refers to the walking pace rather than the crypt. Below ground the floor is uneven original brickwork with steps and low sections, and there is no lift or step-free alternative route.
  • People who struggle in confined spaces. Passages are narrow, ceilings are low in places, and sections are single file. Because the crypt is a dead end rather than a loop, you cannot simply push on to an exit if you want out; you return the way you came, past the group coming in.
  • Young children who are easily unsettled. There is no minimum age on these tours, and plenty of families do it, but the displays are open human remains at close range in dim light. Only you can judge how a particular child will take that.
  • Anyone hoping to photograph it. Photography and video are prohibited throughout the ossuary. If the pictures are the point of the visit, this is not the site for it.

If any of these rule you out, the monastery above ground is still worth the ticket on its own: the church, the cloisters with their Seville tilework, and the library of roughly 25,000 antique volumes are all step-accessible in a way the crypt is not, and several tours can be adjusted to skip the descent if you tell the operator in advance.

From Our Experience

We've found the ticket line in the listing matters more than the price. Two of these six tours leave the San Francisco entrance fee off the headline rate, so the cheapest option can end up costing much the same as the mid-range one that includes it, minus the guide who actually specialises in the crypt.

Tips for Your Lima Catacombs Tour

  • Confirm the entrance ticket is included before booking. The listing wording is easy to skim past, particularly where the ticket appears only on a Premium tier rather than the standard option you are looking at.
  • Avoid Saturday if your schedule allows. The route in and out of the ossuary is the same set of passages, so busy days create bottlenecks and guides move groups along faster to clear the backlog. Early weekday slots are the calmest.
  • Do not plan on photos underground. Photography is not permitted in the catacombs, so put the phone away and take the guide's explanation instead.
  • Wear shoes with grip. The passages are original brickwork with uneven, sometimes damp footing, and there are low sections where you will need to duck.
  • The crypt is a fraction of the tour. The underground portion runs around 45 minutes; the rest is the historic centre. Book the itinerary you want above ground, not just the catacombs.
  • Consider the evening slot. The catacombs stay open late, and pairing the visit with the Magic Water Circuit turns it into a full evening rather than competing with daytime plans.
  • Bring small soles. If your tour excludes the entrance fee you pay at the door, and the ticket desk is not set up for cards or large notes.
  • Pair it with the food side of the city. Several of these tours end near the Mercado Central, which is also the anchor for the evening walks in our guide to the best Lima food tours, or with a Peruvian cooking class in Lima if you would rather learn the dishes than just eat them.
  • Get to the historic centre without stress. Three of these tours meet at fixed points downtown rather than collecting you, so a pre-booked Lima airport transfer to your hotel is worth arranging if you are arriving the same day.

Why Trust Peru Trip Insider

  • We read the inclusions line by line, not the summary. That is how we found that two of these six tours do not include the San Francisco entrance ticket at the advertised price, a detail the headline listings do not make obvious.
  • Prices are verified, not estimated. Every figure in the table is the current from-price in USD for that listing, and the ticket column reflects what each operator actually states it covers.
  • Ratings and review counts come from the platform, unrounded. The 365 reviews on the budget tour and the 105 on the small-group option are real totals, and we exclude tours with thin review histories.
  • Site facts are checked against multiple sources. The 25,000 burial estimate, the 1657 to 1674 construction dates and the no-photography rule were each confirmed against more than one independent source rather than repeated from a tour description.
  • Reviewed and updated July 2026. Opening hours and admission prices at the monastery change, so we re-check this page rather than leaving it to age.

ℹ️ We earn a commission if you book through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not affect which tours we rank first, and we do not accept payment from operators for placement.

How We Selected These Tours

The Peru Trip Insider team ranked Lima's catacombs tours on the things that decide the day: whether the San Francisco entrance ticket is genuinely included, how much of the historic centre comes with it, and whether you are collected or left to find a meeting point. Every tour listed holds a verified operator listing rated 4.8 or better. We left out tours that were unclear about what the price covered, and any listing that mentioned the catacombs without confirming access. The six span budget walking tours, mid-range city loops with pickup, an evening pairing with the water show, and a small-group option that adds Miraflores, so you can choose on format rather than price alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Lima catacombs tour?+

Guided tours cost $19 to $69 per person. Walking tours meeting in the historic centre run $19 to $35, and tours with hotel pickup cost $45 to $69. Admission to the San Francisco catacombs is a small amount on top, commonly quoted between S/10 and S/20, and only some tours include it in the price they advertise. Confirm the current rate at the ticket desk, since published figures vary.

Can you visit the Lima catacombs without a tour?+

Not on your own. Access to the ossuary is by guided visit only, run through the monastery museum, and the underground portion takes roughly 45 minutes. You can buy admission at the door and join a museum-run group, or book a tour that includes the ticket and covers the historic centre as well.

How many bodies are in the Lima catacombs?+

An estimated 25,000 people were buried beneath the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, which served as the city's main burial ground until cemeteries opened in the 19th century. The bones were later exhumed and sorted by type, then arranged into the geometric patterns visitors see today.

Can you take photos in the Lima catacombs?+

No. Photography and video are not permitted anywhere in the catacombs, including the circular well of femurs and skulls that the site is known for. Some tours allow photos in the church and cloisters above ground, so ask your guide where the line falls.

How long does a Lima catacombs tour take?+

Between 2 and 4 hours, but the crypt itself is only around 40 to 45 minutes of that on every tour, since the museum controls access. These are city tours with the catacombs as one stop, not catacombs-only tours, so book the itinerary you want above ground rather than the crypt alone.

Are the Lima catacombs claustrophobic?+

In places, yes. The passages are original 17th-century brickwork with low ceilings, uneven floors and sections where groups move single file. It is manageable for most visitors, but worth considering if confined spaces are a problem or if you are tall.

When were the San Francisco catacombs in Lima built?+

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco were built between 1657 and 1674, and the crypt beneath served as Lima's principal burial site. The complex survived the earthquakes that destroyed much of colonial Lima, which is why the baroque facade and the tiled cloisters remain intact.

Is the Lima catacombs tour worth it?+

Yes, particularly as part of a wider walk through the historic centre. The bone arrangements are unlike anything else in Peru, and the monastery above ground holds a library of roughly 25,000 antique volumes and Seville tilework worth seeing in their own right. Pair it with a food walk to make a full day in the centre.

Affiliate note: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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