Callao

Callao is a seaside city and constitutional province of Peru on the Pacific Ocean, about 15 kilometers west of Lima's historic center and part of the Lima metropolitan area. Founded on 6 March 1537 by Diego Ruiz, it gained autonomous status as a Littoral Province in 1836 and became a Constitutional Province in 1857 under Ramon Castilla's government. A 2025 estimate put its population at 1,226,200, the third largest city in Peru, and the city serves as Peru's chief seaport and hosts Jorge Chavez International Airport. Callao was nearly destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of 1746, which killed all but about 200 of its roughly 5,000 residents.