Long before the Spanish founded the City of Kings in 1535, the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers were home to some of the most important civilizations of ancient Peru. Their temples, pyramids and cemeteries can still be visited today, often in the middle of the modern city.
The first inhabitants
The first people arrived on the central coast of Peru thousands of years ago as hunters and gatherers. Over time, they settled near the sea and the river valleys, living from fishing, shellfish and the first crops. At sites such as Paloma, south of Lima, archaeologists have found the remains of small villages that are around 7,000 years old.
Caral, the oldest civilization in the Americas
About 180 km north of Lima, in the Supe Valley, the Caral civilization built monumental pyramids, sunken circular plazas and residential areas around 3,000 BC, at the same time as the first cities of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Caral had no ceramics and no weapons of war, and its economy was based on agriculture and trade with fishing communities on the coast.
The U-shaped temples
During the Formative period, the people of the Lima valleys built large ceremonial centers in the shape of a U, open toward the mountains, where the rivers come from. Some of the best known are Garagay in the Rímac Valley, famous for its painted clay reliefs, and Cardal and Mina Perdida in the Lurín Valley.
The Lima culture
Between approximately 200 and 700 AD, the Lima culture developed on the central coast. Its builders used millions of small handmade adobe bricks placed vertically, like books on a shelf, a technique that helped their pyramids resist earthquakes. Their most famous monument is Huaca Pucllana, in Miraflores. They also built the Maranga complex and the first temples of Pachacamac.
The Wari
Around 600 AD, the Wari, an Andean empire from Ayacucho, expanded its influence to the coast. During this period, Pachacamac became an important religious center, and large settlements such as Cajamarquilla grew in the Rímac Valley.
The Ychsma
After the decline of the Wari, the Ychsma lords ruled the Rímac and Lurín valleys from around 1000 AD. They made Pachacamac their capital and built more than a dozen pyramids with ramps. The oracle of Pachacamac was so famous that pilgrims traveled from all over the Andes to consult it.
The Incas
Around 1470, the Incas conquered the central coast. They respected the oracle of Pachacamac and added the great Temple of the Sun and the Acllawasi, the House of the Chosen Women. Near Lima, the palace of Puruchuco shows how local lords lived under Inca rule. In 1533 the Spanish arrived at Pachacamac, and two years later they founded Lima.
Visit the cultures of Lima
Our Pachacamac Excursion takes you to the Ychsma pyramids and the Inca Temple of the Sun, and our Huaca Pucllana and Larco Museum tour combines the great pyramid of the Lima culture with one of the best collections of pre-Columbian art in Peru.