The Gold Museum is considered one of Lima’s premier attractions. It houses the private collection of Miguel Mujica Gallo, who spent years amassing it, often by purchasing relics from grave robbers. It features gold figures, jewelry, masks, knives and artifacts from the Inca and colonial periods. It also contains mummies, headdresses and other ancient relics.

In 2001, a huge scandal broke out. It was proven that many of the pieces in the museum were fakes. Experts had been suspicious of many of the pieces for years. The Mujica Gallo family claimed that the fakes had been purchased by mistake and that the museum now only houses genuine pieces. However there is still a cloud of skepticism that hangs over the exhibits.

Upstairs from the Gold Museum is the equally fascinating Arms museum, which houses weapons and armor from many cultures. Artifacts from Peru’s history, such as items owned by the Pizarro brothers and Simón Bolívar, are also on display. You may want to do both museums as part of a tour, since the displays are not always clearly marked

Museum

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Reviews

Traveler Reviews of Gold Museum / Museo de Oro

SCAM!

Completely overated, a loss of time and a tourist trap. These are the only comments I can give about the Gold Museum. Imposible to understand without a guide, filthy, without any labels, not well organized, this museum made me loose a complete morning trying to get there and understand it. There are far better places to visit in Lima.  

Traveler from London on Feb 10, 2009

Weapons galore

Overall I would like to say that visiting the 'museo de oro' was pleasant. I enjoyed walking the grounds, I also enjoyed the weapons and uniforms/outfits floor. Very cool. For whoever visits Lima, Peru, the Gold Museum is definately something you want to put in your agenda. It's amazing to see how 'man' lived in that era. Aside from that, getting so close to the mummies is fascinating - it's truly an experience.

Traveler from Portland, Or on Apr 02, 2008

Changing thoughts...

After living in Lima several months, one of my employees said it was really neat and took me to the "Gold & Weapons Museum." A little wary of wasting a beautiful Sunday visiting a museum, I went, but expected to be bored. I thought the primary attraction would be the gold exhibitions, but as you enter, the weapons exhibits on the ground floor is nothing but spectacular!!! Truly on par with the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. An amalgamation of weaponry (of which I had never had any previous desire to see) simply amazed me, display by display! It is truly like a walk through history! The variety and details spanning so many eras and worldly locations is overwhelming. Personally, I was more enthralled with the weaponry displays than the Gold and Antiqueties in the basement "vault." A lot of the pieces there looked like the stuff you can purchase at the Inca Markets in Miraflores... However keep in mind that I truly have no idea what a 500 year old piece of Peruvian pottery or tapestry should look like anyway! Go and enjoy, glad I didn't waste my Sunday laying in the sun at the beach!

Dick Frankenfield from Baltimore, Maryland USA on Feb 28, 2008

not worth it!!

Expensive, chaotic, disorganized, dirty. It is far away and is a complete waste of money and time!!!!

Traveler from us on Jul 23, 2007

Bad information

I didn't like it. Even though I knew objects in the collection were not real, I chose to go anyway. I couldn't believe how incredibly fake it was. The objects are not  even close to real. The exhibition is not labeled and is really chaotic. It is not the best museum in Peru at all, as many tourists think. It's a waste of time and money. DO NOT GO!

Traveler from USA on Mar 23, 2006