I visited Chankillo in February 2020. Although my visit was very similar to Lauren's, I believe this site deserves more than a single review. Like Lauren, I visited the site at sunrise, with the help of Aleka Tours.

Before 6am, they picked me up from my hotel in central Casma in a gleaming blue dune buggy perfect for driving through the desert of the Peruvian coast. I was guided by a Spanish-speaking archaeologist and an English-speaking guide. Although the presence of the two women made the tour more interactive and complete, my level of Spanish and the archaeologist's level of English would have allowed me to understand 95% of the tour. Please take note that the road leading to the site (AN-1306 / El Castillo on Google Maps) was closed by a chain and guarded by a man at the time of our visit (and this, despite the early hour!). My memory is hazy, but I think the guide was asked to pay a fee.

We started the tour at the ruins between the 13 towers and the concentric wall structure. A platform indicates where to stand to watch the sun rise and determine the time of year. The sky was clear during my visit and I could see the sun appearing between the towers. It is impressive to think that this site was built so long ago and that these people already had a fine mastery of astronomy. We then headed towards some stone walls, ruins of buildings at the foot of the ridge on which the towers are located, before climbing the ridge itself. Some of the towers (especially those at the ends) have been restored. The middle ones are essentially stone stacks without the square shape of the others. It is not allowed to climb any of the towers and sand bags blocked the way to restored ones on my visit. The ridge offers the best view of the ruined dwellings to the south-east of the ridge, as well as of the concentric buildings on the mountain to the north-west. Both these areas are still inaccessible.

In the end, this visit is short and this site is not the most impressive, but it is still very interesting! I was able to see some burrowing owls as I left the site. Also, Casma is an easy stop between the hotspots of Trujillo and Huaraz. Buses serve Trujillo (mostly Lima-Trujillo buses), while collectivos go up to Huarez when they are full. Hopping on a tuk-tuk will also take you to the archaeological site of Sechin Bajo, reputed to be one of the oldest on the continent, and home to some fascinating engravings. On a final note, like Lauren, I can also highly recommend the services of Aleka Tours for your visit to Chankillo.