Peru Map – Cities & Towns [PE]
Peru’s city map is shaped by three strong geographic bands: the Pacific coast, the Andean highlands, and the Amazon basin. Lima and Callao form the dominant coastal urban core, while Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Cusco, Huancayo, Iquitos, and Pucallpa anchor major regional patterns. This reference page maps selected cities, towns, department seats, ports, Amazon hubs, and highland centers using approximate coordinates and source-limited population notes. Population values may refer to city, district, province, or metropolitan definitions depending on the dataset.
Lima
PE / PER
24 Departments + Callao
Coast, Andes, Amazon Hubs
Map Orientation
Pacific Coast
The coastal strip contains Lima, Callao, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Chimbote, Ica, Tacna, Tumbes, Talara, and several port-linked urban areas. This is the clearest north–south corridor on most Peru maps.
Andean Highlands
Arequipa, Cusco, Huancayo, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Puno, Huaraz, Huancavelica, Abancay, and Cerro de Pasco mark the highland network. Road distance can be much longer than straight-line distance because of mountain terrain.
Amazon Basin
Iquitos, Pucallpa, Puerto Maldonado, Tarapoto, Moyobamba, and Chachapoyas help read the eastern half of the country. Iquitos is a major Amazon city with no direct road connection to Lima.
Lima–Callao Distinction
Lima is the national capital and largest urban center. Callao is a separate constitutional province and port city. Many datasets also treat Metropolitan Lima as a special unit for administrative mapping.
How Peru’s Cities Fit the Map
Northern coastal cities
Central Andes corridor
Southern highland arc
Amazon river and road hubs
Lima Dominance
Lima and Callao together form Peru’s largest urban concentration. A national map can look empty in parts of the Andes and Amazon unless smaller department seats are also shown.
North Coast Chain
Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Sullana, Tumbes, Talara, and Chimbote create a visible urban chain along or near the Pacific side of northern Peru.
Highland Seats
Cusco, Huancayo, Cajamarca, Ayacucho, Puno, Huaraz, Huancavelica, Abancay, and Cerro de Pasco make the Andean administrative pattern easier to read.
Eastern Hubs
Iquitos, Pucallpa, Tarapoto, Moyobamba, Chachapoyas, and Puerto Maldonado mark the Amazon and Andean-Amazon transition zones rather than a dense city grid.
Selected Cities and Towns Table
The table uses selected places useful for a Peru cities-and-towns map. Population notes are not normalized across every row because Peruvian sources may use city, district, province, or metropolitan boundaries.
| Place | Type | Administrative Unit | Geographic Zone | Population or Size Note | Latitude | Longitude | Map Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima | Capital city | Metropolitan Lima | Central coast | GeoNames record: 7,737,002; metro estimates are higher | -12.043 | -77.028 | National anchor | Largest city and political center of Peru. |
| Callao | Port city / constitutional province | Callao | Central coast | GeoNames record: 1,300,000 | -12.052 | -77.135 | Main port | Mapped separately because Callao has special administrative status. |
| Arequipa | Regional metropolis | Arequipa | Southern Andes | GeoNames record: 1,008,290 | -16.399 | -71.537 | Southern hub | Largest mapped city outside the Lima–Callao core in this dataset. |
| Trujillo | Regional metropolis | La Libertad | North coast | GeoNames record: 919,899 | -8.116 | -79.030 | North coast anchor | Major urban center on the northern Pacific corridor. |
| Chiclayo | Regional city | Lambayeque | North coast | GeoNames record: 552,508 | -6.770 | -79.855 | North coast hub | Linked to the Lambayeque coastal plain. |
| Piura | Regional city | Piura | Far north coast | GeoNames record: 484,475 | -5.182 | -80.657 | Northern regional hub | Important for reading northern Peru’s coastal interior. |
| Huancayo | Highland city | Junín | Central Andes | GeoNames record: 456,250 | -12.069 | -75.210 | Central Andes hub | Major city in the Mantaro Valley. |
| Cusco | Highland city | Cusco | Southern Andes | GeoNames record: 428,450 | -13.532 | -71.967 | Southern Andes hub | Regional center for the southern highlands. |
| Iquitos | Amazon city | Loreto | Amazon basin | GeoNames record: 377,609 | -3.748 | -73.253 | Amazon anchor | Major city in northeastern Peru’s Amazon region. |
| Pucallpa | Amazon city | Ucayali | Amazon basin | GeoNames record: 326,040 | -8.379 | -74.554 | Eastern hub | Mapped on the Ucayali side of eastern Peru. |
| Chimbote | Coastal city | Áncash | North-central coast | GeoNames record: 316,966 | -9.075 | -78.594 | Port and coast marker | Useful for the coastal section between Lima and Trujillo. |
| Tacna | Border city | Tacna | Southern coast / border | GeoNames record: 286,240 | -18.015 | -70.254 | Southern border marker | Near Peru’s southern border zone. |
| Ica | Coastal valley city | Ica | South coast interior | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -14.068 | -75.728 | South coast valley marker | Interior coastal-valley city south of Lima. |
| Sullana | Coastal valley city | Piura | Far north coast | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -4.903 | -80.685 | Chira Valley marker | Paired with Piura on many northern Peru maps. |
| Juliaca | Highland city | Puno | Altiplano | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -15.500 | -70.134 | Altiplano hub | Commercial center near Lake Titicaca routes. |
| Cajamarca | Department capital | Cajamarca | Northern Andes | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -7.164 | -78.510 | Highland marker | Northern highland administrative center. |
| Ayacucho | Department capital | Ayacucho | South-central Andes | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -13.158 | -74.223 | Highland marker | Helps locate the south-central Andes. |
| Huánuco | Department capital | Huánuco | Andes / Amazon edge | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -9.930 | -76.242 | Transition city | Placed between the central Andes and eastern lowlands. |
| Chincha Alta | Coastal city | Ica | South coast | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -13.419 | -76.132 | Coastal valley marker | South of Lima in the Ica coastal corridor. |
| Puno | Department capital | Puno | Altiplano | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -15.840 | -70.021 | Lake Titicaca marker | Important for reading the southeastern highlands. |
| Tarapoto | Amazon foothill city | San Martín | Amazon foothills | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -6.487 | -76.360 | Eastern service hub | One of the clearer cities in the northern Amazon foothills. |
| Huaraz | Department capital | Áncash | Central Andes | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -9.527 | -77.528 | Mountain marker | Administrative center near the Cordillera Blanca. |
| Huacho | Regional seat | Lima Region | Central coast | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -11.106 | -77.605 | Lima Region seat | Represents Lima Region outside Metropolitan Lima. |
| Puerto Maldonado | Department capital | Madre de Dios | Amazon basin | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -12.593 | -69.189 | Southeastern Amazon hub | Near routes toward Bolivia and Brazil. |
| Tumbes | Department capital | Tumbes | Far north coast | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -3.567 | -80.451 | Northern border marker | Useful for the Ecuador border area. |
| Talara | Coastal city | Piura | Far north coast | INEI 2022 city list: above 100,000 | -4.577 | -81.271 | Coastal marker | Oil and port-linked city on the northern coast. |
| Moquegua | Department capital | Moquegua | South coast interior | Current urban count varies by source | -17.194 | -70.935 | Department seat | Small but important for administrative map completeness. |
| Abancay | Department capital | Apurímac | Southern Andes | Current urban count varies by source | -13.634 | -72.881 | Department seat | Andean administrative center between Cusco and Ayacucho. |
| Chachapoyas | Department capital | Amazonas | Andean-Amazon transition | Current urban count varies by source | -6.231 | -77.870 | Department seat | Marks the northern transition between highlands and Amazon areas. |
| Huancavelica | Department capital | Huancavelica | Central Andes | Current urban count varies by source | -12.786 | -74.976 | Department seat | Highland administrative city. |
| Cerro de Pasco | Department capital | Pasco | Central Andes | Current urban count varies by source | -10.667 | -76.256 | High-altitude marker | One of the highest major administrative cities in Peru. |
| Moyobamba | Department capital | San Martín | Amazon foothills | Current urban count varies by source | -6.034 | -76.971 | Department seat | Administrative seat of San Martín, separate from larger Tarapoto. |
Administrative Units Used on Peru Maps
Peru is commonly mapped with 24 departments, the Constitutional Province of Callao, and a separate Metropolitan Lima treatment in many administrative datasets. ISO subdivision names and local government practice may not match every statistical table exactly.
| Administrative Unit | ISO Code | Capital or Seat | Map Zone | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazonas | PE-AMA | Chachapoyas | North / Andean-Amazon | Department with highland and Amazon transition areas. |
| Áncash | PE-ANC | Huaraz | North-central coast and Andes | Includes Chimbote on the coast and Huaraz in the highlands. |
| Apurímac | PE-APU | Abancay | Southern Andes | Interior highland department. |
| Arequipa | PE-ARE | Arequipa | South coast and Andes | Contains one of Peru’s largest cities. |
| Ayacucho | PE-AYA | Ayacucho | South-central Andes | Highland administrative unit. |
| Cajamarca | PE-CAJ | Cajamarca | Northern Andes | Major northern highland region. |
| Callao | PE-CAL | Callao | Central coast | Constitutional province and main port. |
| Cusco | PE-CUS | Cusco | Southern Andes | Highland region with a major urban and cultural center. |
| Huancavelica | PE-HUV | Huancavelica | Central Andes | High-altitude department. |
| Huánuco | PE-HUC | Huánuco | Central Andes / Amazon edge | Transition zone between highlands and eastern lowlands. |
| Ica | PE-ICA | Ica | South coast | Coastal valleys and desert-edge cities. |
| Junín | PE-JUN | Huancayo | Central Andes | Anchored by Huancayo and the Mantaro Valley. |
| La Libertad | PE-LAL | Trujillo | North coast and Andes | North coast urban center with inland highland areas. |
| Lambayeque | PE-LAM | Chiclayo | North coast | Compact coastal department. |
| Lima Region | PE-LIM | Huacho | Central coast and Andes | Separate from Metropolitan Lima in many map datasets. |
| Loreto | PE-LOR | Iquitos | Northeast Amazon | Large Amazon department with river-based geography. |
| Madre de Dios | PE-MDD | Puerto Maldonado | Southeast Amazon | Amazon department near Bolivia and Brazil routes. |
| Moquegua | PE-MOQ | Moquegua | South coast interior | Southern department with coast and interior areas. |
| Pasco | PE-PAS | Cerro de Pasco | Central Andes / Amazon edge | Highland and eastern slope geography. |
| Piura | PE-PIU | Piura | Far north coast | Includes Piura, Sullana, and Talara urban markers. |
| Puno | PE-PUN | Puno | Altiplano | Includes Puno and Juliaca near Lake Titicaca routes. |
| San Martín | PE-SAM | Moyobamba | Amazon foothills | Moyobamba is the seat; Tarapoto is a major mapped city. |
| Tacna | PE-TAC | Tacna | Far south coast / border | Southern border department. |
| Tumbes | PE-TUM | Tumbes | Far north coast / border | Northern border department near Ecuador. |
| Ucayali | PE-UCA | Pucallpa | Central Amazon | Eastern Amazon region anchored by Pucallpa. |
| Metropolitan Lima | PE-LMA | Lima | Central coast | Special municipal unit used in ISO-style subdivision mapping. |
Map Reading Cues for Peru
High
Lima–Callao and the north coast produce the densest visible city chain.
High
Mountain terrain separates nearby-looking cities into different travel corridors.
Wide
Large eastern areas have fewer mapped city points and more river-based orientation.
Mixed
Lima Region, Metropolitan Lima, and Callao need careful label handling.
Map Data Notes
What Is Reliable
Capital, country code, broad administrative structure, department seats, and approximate city coordinates are stable enough for reference mapping. Peru’s official statistics office identifies 26 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in its 2022 population note.
What May Vary
Population figures can change depending on whether a source uses city proper, district, province, urban agglomeration, or metropolitan area. Lima, Callao, and Metropolitan Lima are especially sensitive to boundary definitions.
Coordinate Precision
Coordinates are approximate city-center points for public map orientation. They are not property-level, address-level, or infrastructure-level coordinates.
Best Use of This Map
The page is suited for locating major Peruvian cities, department seats, coast-to-Andes-to-Amazon settlement patterns, and selected towns used in national reference maps.
Primary and Supporting Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) — official Peruvian statistics institution.
- INEI 2022 population note — national population, urbanization, natural-region distribution, and list of cities above 100,000 inhabitants.
- INEI 2024 population projection note — updated national population context and city-size statement.
- GeoNames Peru country record — country code, capital, area, neighbors, and gazetteer reference.
- GeoNames largest cities in Peru — selected city population records and approximate coordinates used in the chart.
- ISO Online Browsing Platform — ISO 3166 country and subdivision coding reference.
- World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment: Peru profile — territorial organization notes for regional and municipal levels.
- Natural Earth Data — generalized boundary and base-map reference for country-scale cartography.
- OpenStreetMap — supporting gazetteer and place-location reference under OSM contributor terms.
FAQ
What is the capital of Peru?
Lima is the capital of Peru. It sits on the central Pacific coast and forms the country’s largest urban area together with neighboring Callao.
What are the main cities shown on a Peru map?
The main mapped cities usually include Lima, Callao, Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Huancayo, Cusco, Iquitos, Pucallpa, Chimbote, Tacna, Ica, Juliaca, Cajamarca, and Puno.
Is Callao part of Lima?
Callao is physically connected to the Lima urban area, but administratively it is the Constitutional Province of Callao. For map labeling, Callao should be shown separately when administrative accuracy matters.
How many main administrative units does Peru have?
Peru is commonly described as having 24 departments at the regional level plus the Constitutional Province of Callao. Metropolitan Lima is also treated separately in many subdivision datasets.
Why do Peru city population numbers vary?
Different sources may count a city proper, a district, a province, an urban area, or a metropolitan area. Lima and Callao are the clearest examples of this boundary issue.
Why are Amazon cities spaced far apart on the map?
Eastern Peru covers large Amazon basin areas where settlement is more river- and road-corridor based. Cities such as Iquitos, Pucallpa, Tarapoto, and Puerto Maldonado act as widely spaced regional hubs.