Peru's Other 'Lost City' Preserves the Oldest Known Civilization in the Americas

by Hannah D. Cooper Aug 26, 2024

Predating the Inca Empire by four millennia, a far-flung desert settlement in northern Peru preserves the oldest known civilization in the Americas. Although now inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a natural warm-up for the Sacred Valley, Caral and its astonishingly intact pyramids and sunken plazas have evaded the limelight since their rediscovery 30 years ago.

Perched on an alluvial plain in the Supe Valley, the pre-Columbian Sacred City of Caral is an offbeat day trip from Lima. Visitors to Peru’s “other” Lost City are slim on the ground and circuiting America’s oldest ruins means being a fly on the wall at an ongoing dig where researchers excavate daily.

The Zona Arqueológica Caral (ZAC) is committed to responsible tourism and overcoming poverty. Training local villagers as mandatory archaeological guides, supporting non-industrialized agriculture, and marking celestial events with night camps upholds northern Peru’s cultural heritage while boosting the economy.

Unearthing the oldest city in the Americas



Photo: rjankovsky /Shutterstock

A three-hour drive from the perpetually foggy Lima follows the Panamericana Norte through desert and multiple zonas de neblina. Yet, as our guide reported, the Supe Valley is eternally sunny (double-up on sunscreen). The Supe River skims the northeast border creating a surreal desert oasis. Fertile pockets of avocado, corn, passionfruit, and chili dot the 14 miles between the city and coast. These same plots were likely used by pre-Columbian farmers and, paired with crystal-clear night skies, give historians a clue why Caral became the center of an astrally astute community dependent on agriculture and religious rituals.

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