Lima

Incahuasi

An Inca archaeological site, its construction is associated with the campaign fought against the Lord of the Guarcos (1450AD), in the province now known as Cañete. The site was constructed to be the General’s quarters for Túpac Yupanqu and was built of stone. Click to read more…

Pachacamac

Pachacamac is considered one of the most important pre-Hispanic ceremonial centers on the Central Coast of Peru. For at least two thousand years it was occupied by Andean cultures like the Lima, Wari, Ichma and Inca. Click to read more…

Puruchuco

Built in the Inca period (15th-16th century) and constructed on a rectangular, adobe base. The site is famous for the discovery of an urn in 1956 that contained 21 Inca “khipu” — a grouping of strands tied with knots to signify numbers or words. The khipu have since been studied to determine whether they were simply the Inca’s accounting system, or were an as-yet untranslated form of writing. Click to read more…

Paramonga

City built on the frontier of the Kingdom of Chimor, whose capital was Chan Chan. It is believed to have been an important site of worship, and takes its name from the town of Paramonga, although no original name for the site can be found in the Muchik language, which was spoken on the north coast of Peru before the Spanish conquest. Click to read more…

Caral

Caral represents the oldest civilization in the Americas, which developed around the same time as Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. It’s a city that represents the pre-ceramic period. Click to read more…

Huaca Huallamarca

When the Inca reached the coast in the 15th Century they found that the Lima valley was populated by various tribes, probably of Serrano origin. One of these was named the “Hualla”. The Huallas used this place to bury their dead. Click to read more…

Pucllana Historic Park

Belongs to the cultural development of the Lima culture (200-700AD). Represents the power and political dominance exercised by a group of priests who at the height of their dominion controlled the Chancay, Chillón, Rimac and Lurín valleys. The archaeological center of Huaca Pucllana is associated with other sites in Lima, like Maranga (in San Miguel) Cajamarquilla (Ate-Vitarte) and Pachacámac (Lurín). Click to read more…

Cajamarquilla

Archaeological site built in the end of the intermediate era, around 600AD, during the period when the Lima culture dominated the valley. Cajmarquilla is considered the second largest mud brick city on the central coast, after Pachacámac, as it covers 167 hectares. Click to read more…

Huaca Garagay

The most important Chavin monument that’s been found in the Lima region is the Ceremonial Center of Garagay. This magnificent temple is perhaps one of the oldest examples of the Chavinoide movement in the region, dated around 1200AD, and could be contemporaneous with the old Temple of Chavin in Huantar. Click to read more…

Pariacaca Trail (from Pachacamac)

Part of the Route of the Gods (from Pachacamac to Xauxa, at the base of the snow-capped peak Pariacaca, named after the pre-Inca god of water), it is seen not only as a road, but also as a ceremonial path that pilgrims could follow to the Altar to Pariacaca, considered by some historians to be one of the most important burial sites in Peru. Upon arrival you can observe the open-air altars and the Pariacaca ridge, part of a mountain range that’s the starting point for the Cañete and Mantaro Rivers. Click to read more…

Yaros Archaeological Complex

In the jurisdiction of the old town of San Juan de Lampián, the Yaros ruins were discovered on a hill about four kilometers long. The site starts with semicircular platforms cut from polygonal stones. Groups of “chullpas” (stone burial towers) are built on distinctive rocky crests. Click to read more…

Rupac-Marca Cullpi

This fort is also known as the “Machu Picchu of Lima.” The citadel consists of 51 buildings, of which 28 still have their roofs intact. Some of them measure up to 10 meters high. Together with the archaeological complexes of Chiprac, Canta Marca and Añay, Rupac-Marca Cullpi belongs to the Atahuallos culture (900AD-1460AD). Click to read more…