Callao Chat

Any Callao chat has to start where every chalaco starts: Callao is not Lima. It has been a constitutional province since 22 April 1857, ranked as a region with its own regional government, and its seven districts — from La Punta and La Perla to Ventanilla and Mi Perú — make up a single city. #callao is the room for chalacos, as people from Callao are called.

The room is brand new and quiet for now, which is why joining from this page also opens #lima, which is active for much of the day, #peru, the big national room, and #latinoamerica. When someone else from the port turns up there, #callao is where you can carry on.

Callao is Peru’s main seaport and also home to Jorge Chávez International Airport, which makes it the country’s main gateway. The Real Felipe fortress was begun in 1747 after the 1746 earthquake and tsunami, and in 1826 the last Spanish army in Peru marched out of it after a long siege. Locals will also mention the La Punta peninsula at the tip of the bay, the islands of San Lorenzo and El Frontón, the Lima–Callao railway of 1850–51, the second in South America, and 20 August, when Callao celebrates its autonomy from Lima rather than a founding date. Peru runs on UTC−5 all year. See also Lima and Peru.