Visiting Caral, "the oldest city in the Americas", independently

 


The Sacred City of Caral-Supe (La Ciudad Sagrada de Caral-Supe), or simply Caral, is said to be the oldest city in the Americas. It consists of several pyramids, and unlike most other pyramids in Peru, they are made of rocks and not adobe bricks. It is one of the most important and most impressive archaeological sites in Peru, but very few people visit it because to do so is very expensive - a tour from Lima costs around 300-400 USD! But you can visit it independently. First you have to get to Barranca, a quite pleasant city, and from there you can take a colectivo to Supe, a town right next to it. From Supe you can take another colectivo to the village of Caral. There are also colectivos that go from Barranca all the way to Caral, but they are less frequent. Once you are in the village of Caral, it takes a bit of a walk to reach the site. You have to take a local guide at the site, you are not allowed to walk around alone, but it doesn't cost that much and it provides some income for locals from the village. There are dozens more pyramids in the valley, but they are still unexcavated and closed to the public, but you can see them from the distance. 

Map of Caral


1. Caral village; 2. Viewpoint; 3. Ticket office; 4. Archaeological site.

Maps of the archaeological site






The walk in photos













































































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