Site visited April 2018. For me getting to the World Heritage Site of Caral turned out to be agony and race against time but in the end it won over me.

I guess everything worth knowing about this site and its historical importance have been told already on the previous reviews so on my review I focus mainly on my trip to Caral.

My plan was to visit Caral on my way from Huaraz to Lima. I knew this could be a bit tight schedule for one day but I decided to give it a try. I left from Huaraz bus station at 9 AM and was at Barranca four hours later. The bus left me at some gas station outside the city centre so I had to walk quite a long distance with my large suitcase in the mid day heat. During my walk I tried to catch a taxi to Caral. The task proved to be very hard. There were only lots of mototaxis that tooted at me all the time. I thought that those are not suitable for my needs. I saw only few taxi cars and those were reserved. At some point I got tired of walking and trying to catch a taxi. Then I saw a hotel and went to the reception to ask about driver to Caral. The receptionist was very kind and she arranged a driver for me but I had to wait for some 45 minutes for it to show up. After some price negotiations we headed towards Caral. I was already getting a bit worried because the site is open until 5 PM and I was running out of time.

Previous reviewer told that it takes only half an hour to get to Caral from Barranca. Maybe that was a case in 2011 but seven years later the trip took over an hour. The last 25 kilometres from the beginning of Supe roundabout the road is in a really terrible condition. The tarmac has crumbled and the driver had to drive slowly and make constantly zigzag moves to avoid the biggest holes on the road. It was a really bumpy ride. Along the trip the driver stopped two times to ask from the local people is it possible to cross the river with the car. The first one said it is possible but the other one said it is not. So we went to check out the possibilities to the riverbank where we saw that there was absolutely too much water. There was no way we could cross the river. Maybe with SUV it would have been possible but not with the normal car. We decided to drive back to the road but then the car stuck to the river bank from the bottom. We both had to dig stones underneath the car in order to get it loose. Then we had to drive another 10 minutes detour via bridge. When we arrived at the parking place of the Caral site it was almost 4 PM so I would have only one hour at the most to explore the site. I was getting a bit disappointed.

There is one kilometres walk from parking place to the site. All the time I was worried that there is too little time left to see the site properly. From the top of the riverbank it is possible to see most of the structures. There is even a viewing platform outside the gates. At the entrance gate there were some information exhibitions and empty souvenir stalls. When I tried to buy a ticket staff said that I can’t visit the site on my own, only with guided group tour. I was there alone so I wondered what to do next. Fortunately at the gate appeared British and Mexican couples so we formed a group and bought a Spanish speaking guide.

The guide led us through a route which formed a loop around the ancient Plaza Central. We stopped in front of important structures and the guide explained historical details thoroughly. I couldn’t follow fast-paced Spanish talking so I concentrated mainly on photography and enjoying the nice atmosphere and sunset. We started from the Amphitheater Temple which is the most remarkable building in the lower part of the city. There is the first of two large sunken circular plazas of Caral. Then we moved on to the Huanca Pyramid and Gallery Pyramid which are beautiful square shaped stepped pyramids. Finally we reached the Greater Pyramid which is the largest and most important architectural complex in the city. Even though the area of the building is big, 170 x 150 metres, the low profile makes it look not that impressive. In front of the stepped pyramid is sunken circular plaza the diameter of which is 37 metres. Lastly, we studied the Central Pyramid and Quarry Pyramid from a viewing platform. The Central Pyramid is the second largest building in the city. Unlike many other buildings in Caral it is not in that good condition but it is quite imposing structure against the background of distant mountains.

After the guided tour we returned to the visitor centre pleased of what we saw. Even though the site closed at 5 PM, with the guide we had an opportunity to explore it almost for two hours and I left one hour after closing time in a most amazing sunset.

It is remarkable that this most ancient city of the Americas which is almost 5000 years old is mostly in a good condition. Also worth noticing is that along the road to the site of Caral through the river valley of Supe I saw a lot of other ancient structures and settlements which are inside the buffer zone of this WHS.

I guess that visiting Caral along the bus trip from Huaraz to Lima is quite a popular alternative among WHS travellers. For me it was little bit too tight day but with better preparation it is easily doable. Nonetheless, the site itself is remarkable and enjoyable to visit. It is a joy to give it 4/5 stars rating.