Cat-Friendly Places in Peru: 8 Ranked Spots

South America's most famous cat attraction: Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, Lima. Over 200 cats live here full-time, fed and cared for by a dedicated volunteer association, the Colonia Felina de Miraflores. The cats have their own Instagram accounts, are internationally famous, and tourists sometimes visit Parque Kennedy specifically before seeing anything else in Lima. An absolutely essential stop for any cat lover in Peru.

One of the world's most extraordinary cat encounters happens at Machu Picchu. A colony of cats lives within the Inca citadel, descending from cats introduced centuries ago, and is maintained by the site's conservation staff. Visitors often spot them emerging from ancient stone doorways or surveying the Andean panorama from terraces. UNESCO considers them part of the site's living heritage.

Steps from Parque Kennedy, Lima's premier cat café has ten resident cats in a beautifully renovated colonial building. The menu features exceptional Peruvian café culture, café pasado (drip coffee), mazamorra morada (purple corn pudding), and lúcuma ice cream. The cats here are famous for being extraordinarily friendly, possibly from proximity to Peru's most famous cat park.

Barranco, Lima's bohemian arts district, is the perfect setting for this creative cat café. Eight cats and rotating exhibitions by local artists share the space. The café's rooftop pisco bar (cats not permitted upstairs, but they watch from ground level) is legendary in Lima's nightlife circuit, and the fusion of art, pisco, and cats is quintessentially Barranco.

Cusco's magnificent Plaza de Armas and surrounding Cathedral have a well-established cat community living in the ancient walls and colonial arcades. These cats, thought to be descendants of cats introduced during the Spanish colonial period, are fed by Cathedral staff and have adapted perfectly to Cusco's 3,400m altitude. A beautiful feline encounter before or after visiting Machu Picchu.

Lima's upscale financial district of San Isidro has this sophisticated cat café near the Olivar Park. Seven cats and a menu of Japanese-Peruvian nikkei fusion (Lima's most famous culinary innovation) make this one of the most culinarily distinctive cat café experiences in South America. The tuna tataki paired with a lapine (lap cat) is the recommended order.

Arequipa's stunning white sillar-stone Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas has a small but beloved cat community in its cloisters. The cats, white like the volcanic stone the city is built from, are fed by Cathedral volunteers and have become symbols of "La Ciudad Blanca" (The White City). An essential feline stop on the southern Peru circuit.

Northern Peru's gateway city to the Chan Chan ruins has its own small cat café in the colonial centre. Five cats and a menu of northern Peruvian specialities, ceviche norteño, shambar bean stew, make this a standout local experience. A good base for day trips to Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas, which also has site cats.