Caral Archaeological Zone
Caral Archaeological Zone
4.5
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Duration: 2-3 hours
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4.5
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Kari M
39 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Friends
Amazing ruins from 5000 (!) Years ago, fabulous signage and information, nice facilities and easily walkable paths, even with wheelchair access to many of the areas. A bit of a trip from Lima, and a bumpy but well marked gravel road at the end, but we felt it was well worth the trip to see, experience, and understand this impressive site and civilization. Local (required) guide was good, but guides only in Spanish, so we were glad to have brought an interpreter. Clean, nice bathroom, some snacks and small gift shop and souvenirs on site. Very few visitors on the day we were there, almost had the place to ourselves.
Written November 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JLCA
Lima, Peru207 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
I drive from Lima to Caral, is almost 3 hours from Lima. The last 30 minutes the road is not so good but you can go with a normal car. When you arrive you need to walk in order to visit the city, so be prepare for the sun. It is really a great place to visit. Unforgettable. You will feel that you go back in the history.
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Receive a cordial greeting from the Caral Archaeological Zone, Executing Unit 003 of the Ministry of Culture of Peru, entity in charge of the management of the archaeological site. We appreciate your comment and visit the Sacred City of Caral, one of the oldest in the world and Andean parent culture. Regards,
Written February 21, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

marnix
Utrecht, The Netherlands39 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
We had a tour around the complex. Very ancient but not as breathtaking as I dreamed it would be.

From any main road it takes about an hour and a half of offroading to get there. Be aware: The road heading out of Caral complex to the north goes through a river! We had to drive all the way around it, taking us an additional 2 hours. Use a 4x4 when driving up there.
Written March 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear, Receive a cordial greeting from the Archaeological Zone of Caral - Executing Unit No. 003. We appreciate your visit to the Sacred City of Caral. As you say, the road is dirt and work is underway to improve road conditions for our visitors. Greetings.
Written March 13, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

ShirleyG60
Redwood City, CA2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2013 • Friends
Super interesting site, few visitors, new and clean facilities (toilets!!). Highly recommend visiting before it becomes super popular tourist site like those in Cusco.... We read about price of tours from Lima and thought there were very overpriced. My husband and I did it independently on a day trip from Lima for approx. US$30 each :) It was a long day, and quite an adventure, but excellent. We are Amerian/Peruvian couple in our 50s/60s and comfortable travelling independently. You should be confident Spanish-speaker to try this tho. Here's how we did the trip. From Miraflores we took taxi to Paramonga Tours bus station (in La Victoria, near downtown) 15 soles. This is a pretty rough area, so be careful. Paramonga and Barranca Tours both leave from Lima and stop in Supe. I picked Paramonga because they listed their prices on their website, but the Barranca buses looked nicer. One way Lima-Supe is 15 soles. Buy ticket at bus station. Bus was fine, not fancy. Buses also leave from the nice bus station in Terminal Terrestre Fiori (San Martin de Poros), but that was further distance from Miraflores. Lima-Supe was about 3 to 3.5 hours travel. We left at 6:10 am, but buses leave about every 20-30 minutes. You pass the turnoff to Caral a few km before Supe, bus doesn't stop there. Get off in Supe. Very poor/rough area where the bus stops. But bus driver will direct you to where to get transportation to Caral, only 1 block away. We were going to take the "cabitas" which was 20 soles each round trip in a minivan. But they need minimum 4 people and we were so early there was noone else. So we walked another block north to where the "taxi collectivos" were available. They charge 7 soles per person to go from Supe to the Caral bridge (make sure to go to the bridge. If they drop you in Caral it is only 5 soles but you have to walk another 1km to the bridge). Problem is they will cram as many people as possible into their taxi, so you should expect to be jammed into a car for the 23km ride along pretty rough metal road. I suggest the cabitas if possible! Takes about 30 mins, Supe-Caral. The road is rough but views are great along Supe River, lots of agriculture (no chicken sheds!). At the Caral bridge they are building a new visitor center, not finished yet. Someone is at the bridge to greet you and welcome you to the Archeological site. From there you walk approx 1.5km to the official site. This is a lovely walk along the Caral riverbank, then up a hill where you can see the entire site. Keep following the path and you will see huge parking lot (this is if driving from other direction, turn off south of Supe, bus tours, etc), then the visitor centre and entrance. Excellent toilets with t-paper - but you know to always carry your own :) The visitor centre is very interesting. Entry fee is 11 soles and the guide (mandatory) is 20 soles, to be shared with the group. We waited an hour for our guide (we were there midweek, few visitors and only 2 guides available). One guide took off with a tour group of 8 Italians in tour group, and they didn't want to send out the other guide until he came back. Anyway, we were in no hurry and we used the time to look through the visitor centre and eat our lunch. We took our own food and drink with us. The day we were there there was no food for sale at the site, but it looked like on weekends they sell food. Guide was excellent, but only in Spanish. Tour was about 80 minutes, and we paid 3 soles each for guide (group of 7). After tour, walk back to bridge (20-30 minutes depending on how fast you walk). There may or may not be taxis there.... they drive out from Caral periodically to see if tourists waiting. We started walking back towards Caral and about halfway there we flagged a taxi heading to the bridge and from there went back to Supe. On the way he picked up passengers, so was again crammed full! At Supe we bought ticket at bus station (little store on corner). Return ticket another 15 soles. We left Supe around 4pm - nice to sleep on bus on return, arrived back in Lima around 7:30pm. We finished our day by walking from the downtown bus station to El Parque de la Reserva (20 min walk via Av. Grau) to watch the Magic Fountains (a must-do for Lima) then taxi back to Miraflores.

We like to spend the day on this type of adventure, experiencing local life, and save money to do more travelling, but it's not for everyone. On our Caral tour we were with an American tourist who paid $300 for a customized day tour from Lima; picked up in Miraflores, driven in car to Caral, all meals included plus dinner in Barranco (north of Supe) at end of day, then back to hotel in Lima.

If you do it our way, take your own food, water, cash and t-paper. It was fabulous day, interesting conversations in taxis and tour, amazing historical site (you can read about that in other reviews). We actually spent about 3 hours at the site, including the guided tour.
Written May 31, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elly L
London, UK47 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2013 • Friends
Despite the lack of information on the Internet, it is perfectly possible and not difficult to travel from Lima to Barranca, do the ruins of Caral as a day trip, and then continue north to Huaraz! This took us 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and was totally worth the time! Not sure how it would work during the week though, as we've heard it's very quiet then.

The buses from Lima northwards leave from the Terminal de Buses Norte, which we got to by bus (from Miraflores, Route B of the Metropolitano rapid bus transit system to Tómas Valle station). You have to pay 5 soles for an electronic card ticket (you can share one between a group) and then 2 soles each for the journey. The locals were very keen to help us!

The main bus station was only 5 mins walk, down the side of the huge indoor market. Once inside, head for the far end, to the Turismo Barranca desk. Tickets to Barranca cost 15 soles each (passport required as ID) and buses seem to leave regularly (we only waited 15 mins for departure). You must pay 1 sole each in transport tax, where they then give you a ticket for the barrier to the departure gates. We were the only foreigners on the bus but it was pretty decent (despite the movie that was on repeat all the way). The journey took about 3.5hrs.

Once in Barranca, hostels and hotels are hard to find. Try heading straight to the tourist office (road Jr Galvez, one block away from the sea from Plaza de Armas and then to the left) for a map of the town, as this has places marked. Avoid Hostal Bahia Inn at all costs...they have a 4hr room rate and holes between the rooms.

The tourist information is very helpful, although the lady we found spoke no English.

The collectivos out to Caral leave from the corner of Jr Arequipa and Berenice Dávila, take 1hr and cost 8 soles each. Be prepared to share the car with many, many people! We took this on Sunday morning at about 9am. Remember to ask for the Caral bridge (Puente Caral) to save yourself a 1.5km walk.

Once dropped at the bridge, we were welcomed by a guide, who pointed us in the right direction. We walked 1km on our own to the ticket office, all of which was well signposted through the sand dunes.

The entrance ticket was 11 soles each (4 soles for students), and the guide (only Spanish speaking) was 25 soles for a group. We end up paying 1 sole each. It is worth arriving around 11-12, as this is when tourists from Lima start arriving.

Luckily, we were taken on by an English speaking guide, but this would be far from guaranteed. All the information points around the ruins have English translations, although the information centre outside the ruins did not. The tour lasted about 1hr and we then walked back to the bridge.

Collectivos come out from Caral every so often to find tourists...we waited about 10mins.

The buses onwards to Huaraz are slightly more complicated. The only company that goes are called Turismo Cavassa, and have their office at 1308 Jr Lima (not a nice part of town...take a tuk-tuk for 2 soles when it's dark). Tickets (40 soles each) need to be bought the day before and the bus leaves from outside the office. We took a bus at 4.30pm, which arrived in Huaraz at 9pm, but there are other options.
Written August 5, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HockeyJoc24
Denver, CO9 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Couples
After reading some of the reviews here on Trip Advisor, we decided to book a trip to Caral with Caral Tours. We're very interested in ruins and historical civilizations so we thought it was a perfect way for us to spend the day. We read that, although Caral Tours is a bit more expensive than some other options, they are reputable and reliable and worth the extra cost. I'd still agree with that - it was a good day and Caral Tours is a good company - but there are a few things to be aware of if you're thinking of going.

It is a LONG day. Our hotel pick-up was 6:15AM and we were dropped back off at about 7:00PM. We thought our Caral Tours tour guide, Vanessa, was fantastic and really did make the trip a great one (she spoke perfect english and really did know her history, not only of Caral, but of Peru in general) - however - the guides at Caral, which are required, do not speak English at all. So the entire onsite walking tour/lecture is only available in Spanish. Vanessa did a fantastic job staying with us, though, and translated for us - so just be aware that, although you may think you're getting an English speaking guide for the entire day - you'll end up relying on Caral Tours for translation while you're there. We were lucky enough to be joined by a Peruvian family from Lima who we now consider great friends - so that was definitely a plus for us.

The lunch on the way back was a great experience in a great setting right across from the beach. You'll chose from an entire menu of local food - and everything that was put on the table was delicious! The meal was included - beer/soda was on our own - but that was no problem at all.

The only criticism I have of Caral Tours was that I asked no fewer than 3 times if I could use my credit card to pay for the tour and was told yes all three times (by paying an additional 6% POS charge). As it turned out, when the topic of payment came up, Vanessa had no way to charge my credit card - she wasn't left with the machine to do it - and so I was thrown a curve ball on the way back to Lima that I'd have to come up with either the Dollars or Soles to pay. Many of you may understand how a curveball like that can throw a small kink into your vacation payment strategy!! So they made me hit an ATM when we returned to Lima in order to pay. It ended up being ok - but may not be for others. You may want to do yourself a favor and just plan on paying with US Dollars or Soles.

All in all a great day - and you will learn a lot! It is probably a day and a tour, though, best intended for those who really like ruins and archaeology!
Written August 4, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ValsTravels
Peru2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
This site was very interesting. I enjoyed it's historical significance, but it took all day to get here. By the time I got back from visiting this place I didn't have time to see very much else in Lima.

If you dont have much time to spend in Lima then a visit to Caral may not be the best idea.
Written August 19, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David D
Austin, TX17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2012 • Couples
We wanted to visit Caral on our recent trip to Peru and selected Peru Golden Shuttle to take us there from Lima. We were very pleased with the service, which picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel. We had a driver and an English speaking guide (Elizabeth) who was very knowledgeable about the site. Caral is rather remote and it took a couple hours to reach from Lima. This is not a place I would recommend visiting without a guide as there are few if any road signs to indicate where it is, it is well off the paved roads in the desert, and the roads nearing the site are pretty bad. The guides are from the local town and only speak Spanish, so unless you are fluent in Spanish, you will need an interpreter. You will need to bring sunscreen and water. The site can only be accessed on foot, so comfortable walking shoes are a must. The site is large and there is a lot to see. Naturally after 6000 years you are looking at ruins, though many of the buildings are in very good condition. The day we were there, there were very few other visitors, however the site looks like it could handle hundreds of people. They had clean bathrooms with flush toilets, and the paths were well cared for. I expect that as more people learn of the significance of Caral, it will become much more heavily visited. If you are interested in ancient cultures, visiting Caral should be high on your list.
Written April 20, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

travelkristen
Boston89 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2011 • Couples
Caral is a huge, windswept city in a barren desert. It feels like you are visiting Egypt instead of Peru. And it is older than the pyramids in Egypt! The city was inhabited 4500 years ago, by an ancient civilization that had no pottery and no metalworking. The site itself consists of nine step pyramids, and an ancient amphitheater where they have found the remains of pelican bone flutes. The size and age of the site is awe-inspiring.

The site is about three hours outside of Lima. Most of the drive is on the excellent panamerican highway, but the last thirty minutes or so are on a bumpy dirt road (as of Aug. 2011). Seriously, don't let that deter you though -- it is well worth the time. We only had a day and a half in Lima, and we used the full day to go to Caral, and I do not regret it at all.

The site does have very good signs in English, but I would recommend going with a guided tour nonetheless -- we learned so much from our guides. We went with Peru Golden Shuttle, who were friendly and very informative -- they made the car ride seem to fly by with their wealth of information about Caral and the people who once lived there.
Written August 8, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kate R
Lima, Peru7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2013 • Friends
We went to Caral with my sister when she was visiting from the States. We decided to make the drive ourselves after checking with a few travel companies that charged between $130-300 per person for the day long tour (more on that later). My husband came with us too and it took about 3.5 hours to get there. The traffic getting out of Lima was of course terrible and the 20km road in to the site was gravel and very very bumpy.

But the site was well worth it! The entire place is very well organized with restrooms, a small visitors center and folks selling small handcraft items and drinks (its super hot so take sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water!). You must use a local guide once you are there (which is great because it supports the local community) and I don't think any speak English (my husband and I translated for my sister). Our guide was good and there are also plaques throughout the site with re-construction images and pictures of the items found in each area (I can't remember if those were in English and Spanish or just Spanish...). One downside is that you can't just wander the site after the tour, you have to be with a guide the entire time, as we wanted to soak in the ambiance a bit solo. That being said, a larger tip might have gotten us a bit more time. The site is worn down with time but that's because it is 5,000 years-old!!! It really is the mother culture from which the Moche, Paracas, Chavin, Inca etc etc are based and its cool to learn about the influences this culture had on all those that followed. Very worth the adventurous drive! It also amazing that they built this entire city in the middle of the desert. We asked the guide if the land was at one time more fertile and he said no. The valley below the site is lush but the site itself is in full on desert. So interesting!

On the way back we tried to take the road through the valley back out and after a few large puddles we got to one we couldn't cross (after getting out a "measuring" the depth with a few sticks we realized it was too deep and without cell service to call for help we probably didn't want to get our car stuck on a deserted road). We decided to back track and return the way we came, back down the bumpy gravel road (past a bunch of chicken farms, so random).

The roads in and out of the site really need (and deserve) some improvement. But all in all this is an incredible site that is SO worth the visit.

If I do it again I will pay for a travel guide to do the driving though, and they often include lunch somewhere. Also if you need the tour to be in English you definitely need to book it with an agency in Lima who will send you with someone who can translate the local guides explanation of the site.
Written June 5, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Caral Archaeological Zone, San Borja

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