Lima sits on Peru's Pacific coast under the persistent garúa — a coastal fog and low cloud that blankets the city for much of the year, making it one of the more challenging places for stargazing despite the surrounding desert. The Bortle 8 city skies are often simply clouded over. Escape lies inland and uphill: climbing above the fog layer into the Andean foothills reveals dramatically clearer skies, and the high desert further inland reaches Bortle 2–3. At 12°S, the southern sky and the high galactic core are superbly placed once you reach clear air above the coastal gloom.