Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
but in many cases it will be a 1km to 2km hike down to the beach. (Local taxis are usually
waiting by the road.) A one-way taxi from Lima runs between S70 and S80.
For beaches to the south, such as Pucusana,
Click here
.
Carretera Central
The Carretera Central (Central Hwy) heads directly east from Lima, following the Rímac
valley into the foothills of the Andes and on to La Oroya in Peru's central highlands.
These can be used to travel to Puruchuco (S2 to S3, 50 minutes) and Chosica (S3 to S4,
two hours ).
Colectivo
taxis also make the journey from the corner of Arequipa and Av Javier Prado
in San Isidro for S8. Recognizing sites from the road can be difficult, so let the driver
know where you want to get off.
PURUCHUCO
01
The site of
Puruchuco
( 494-2641;
http://museopuruchuco.perucultural.org.pe
; ad-
mission S5; 9am-4pm Tue-Sun)
hit the news in 2002 when about 2000 well-preserved
mummy bundles were unearthed from the enormous Inca cemetery. It's one of the biggest
finds of its kind, and the multitude of grave goods included a number of well-preserved
quipu
. The site has a highly reconstructed chief's house, with one room identified as a
guinea-pig ranch. Situated amid the shantytown of Túpac Amaru, Puruchuco is 13km
from Central Lima. (It is best to take a taxi.) A signpost on the highway marks the turn-
off, and from here it is several hundred meters along a road to the right.
CAJAMARQUILLA
01
Another pre-Columbian site,
Cajamarquilla
(admission S5; 9am-4pm)
is a crumbling
adobe city that was built up by the Wari culture (AD 700-1100) on the site of a settlement
originally developed by people of the Lima culture. A road to the left from Lima at about
Km 10 (18km from Central Lima) goes to the Cajamarquilla zinc refinery, almost 5km
from the highway. The ruins are located about halfway along the refinery road; take a turn
to the right along a short road. There are signs, but ask the locals for the
zona arqueoló-
gica
if you have trouble finding them.
