Pyramidal structures and sunken circular courts above the Supe valley: Caral's story starts long before the Incas.
Not an Inca city this time. Caral introduces a much earlier urban society through large platforms and sunken circular courts. Those forms deserve an explanation: otherwise you can walk past remarkable structures without understanding what they tell you together.
Give Caral its own visiting block from Lima or Barranca. Arrange interpretation and the outward and return journeys together so that transport does not become your final unscheduled task.
It answers a different travel interest. Choose Caral to understand early urban Peru, not as a substitute for mountain scenery or a shortened visit to an Inca city.
Ask the site team about the entire route on your date: drop-off, surfaces, any bridge, resting places, toilets and assistance. Match the answers to your mobility aid; one accessible section does not settle the whole journey.
Background on the subjects covered here.