As the Lonely Planet guide states “………..indulgent series of fountains is so over the top that it can’t help but induce stupefaction among even the most hardened cynic” . This park is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 4.00 pm to 10.00 pm. There are fountains and more fountains. Different shapes, different sizes. Different water patterns. Just amazing.
Unfortunately I could not get details of what made the local council undertake this project. There is a guided tour which takes you to these fountains, as part of a long tour or a short tour. We had already seen Lima by the Red Bus and so we went for the short tour which started again from the same place by the church in the main square. The Magic Water Circuit has the Guinness Book record for the largest fountain complex in the world, displaying 13 separate fountains – one sees that many are interactive. All of the fountains are illuminated at night, many with continuously changing colour at intervals.
The bus company insists that each seat is fixed so it’s important to ensure that you get a good seat enabling you to see the sights properly. I personally prefer to sit the side across from the kerbside so that you get the far view clearly – the kerb side view is always seen anyway. The bus does a short tour of the city and suddenly you come across the square where the fountains are located. We don’t get to see all the fountains as they are in two parts. We reach a side street where we leave the bus and then single file, following the guide carrying a lit baton, we go through the gate.
The very first fountain is large and round in design. It has a circular spray 23 m in diameter. It has a changing pattern of colours –like most of the others – and what is really good, is that at most of the important fountain, there is a board stating the details of the fountains. Though in Spanish, it’s a good indicator as to what was behind the creation of each fountain. I have decided to keep these in this blog so that Spanish readers can enjoy it more.
The second fountain we saw was superb. The real star of the show — in terms of sheer fun — is the popular Laberinto del Ensueño or Maze of the Dream. Its all matter of time getting to the centre - a mistimed stride will land you right on top of a suddenly jet of water. It was a large maze with 3 or 4 circles. People would stand in the area between the water jets trying to avoid the water spray when it started. It was hilarious as they had to be still and if they moved, they would get very wet. The jets had various speeds so they kept the folks on tenterhook as no one knew when it would speed up or slow. Music was always part of the flow.
There is a toy train which goes around the whole park
Then came a fountain which was truly awesome! It was long high arch of water which must have been about 12 ft in height. There were lots of water jets which went right over the row of visitors. My photos show the water, with and without flash, which highlights the uniqueness of the fountain. This was really popular and people would stop in the centre for photos but the guards are vigilant and exhort you to move on.
There were many other fountains which were there – we saw , I think, a total of nine before we reached the finale - at the end - a 120 metre long Fuente de la Fantasia – Fantasy Fountain show – a laser light show of epic direction and proportion.
The display starts at a fixed time (I recall 9.45 pm) and lasts 15 minutes is set to a medley of tunes – from Western classical music to Peruvian tunes to ABBA! Extremely well designed and may I say choreographed.
Unbelievable in such a city or under developed country like Peru. It’s a great achievement and certainly a crowd puller and makes the Limaite proud of it.
There are laser light visuals featuring buildings, local tribal people in their colourful costumes as well as sights. Laser text is thrown across the whole water pattern so one knows what is to follow. There is one section in the beginning, which I think, is called ‘One day in the history (of Lima)’ featuring various people in the city. But basically across the 120 metre long display, the speed of the various visuals perfectly synched to the music is just mind-blowing.
To enjoy the whole show, don’t make the mistake of standing right by the barrier. The sprays are high, the visuals are high and so to enjoy the whole performance it’s important to stand at a distance. Ensure you are in the middle of the whole display and at the back, somewhere near the sitting area.
Regrettably, time passed too fast and our guide was keen that we left before everybody else so we were forced to depart before the end. Sad but obviously necessary. Whilst walking o the exit, I stopped many times as one can’t just walk away from such a wonderful display. There were hundreds of people cheering and delight visible on their faces. Pride reflected on the locals who appreciated the awe on the foreigners’ faces.
If you visit Lima, try and see the fountains on your own so you can see both sections across the road. If hard put for time, go on the tour but these Magical Fountains are a sight not to be missed.
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
Some great images here!
ReplyDelete