Empedrada Lodge
Empedrada Lodge is the best hotel near Caral.
My room at Empedrada Lodge was bright and had a king size bed and air conditioning.
Caral changed world history.
Anybody interested in world history or archeology must visit Caral and Empedrada Lodge is the best hotel in the area. Read about my experience at the archeological site and why Caral is such an astounding city on this blog.
However, Caral is a 4-hour drive from Lima and a bit far for just a day trip. I recommend visiting in the morning, before the sun gets too intense, which means you should spend at least one night near Caral.
Book your stay at Empedrada Lodge, a hotel associated with the Peruvian collection Casa Andina.
All rooms and suites have private patios that look out over rows of avocado trees. The suites upstairs in the main part of the old hacienda also have plunge pools that you can fill with cool water on hot afternoons or hot water on chilly nights.
Sunsets in the desert have a special glow and every sunset I saw from Empedrada was lovely.
Every morning and evening I saw flocks of Mountain Parakeets swooping low over the avocado trees and circling the hotel. I also saw Pacific Patrrotlets, Vermillion Flycatchers, Blue-and-yellow Tanagers and several species of doves. Every evening I watched Lesser Nighthawks gliding over the orange trees outside the restaurant while I had dinner.
There is an excellent dinner menu at Empedrada, which is very important because you’re over an hour’s drive from a town with a restaurant. Empedrada also has a limited menu that can be served by the pool.
Empedrada Lodge’s restaurant is open on one side to a grove of orange trees, always full of birds.
Empedrada Lodge is open to the desert, which is perfect for Peru’s coastal desert.
Empedrada Lodge has several salons, each open on one side to the outdoors, either facing the valley or the pool.
The lobby at Empedrada Lodge is full of antiques that show the hacienda’s heritage and also modern art from around Peru.
There are two swimming pools at Empedrada Lodge, the round one is shallower for children.
Don’t miss walking through the groves of mandarin orange trees at Empedrada Lodge.
It’s truly astonishing to see such lush rows of mandarin orange trees in the desert. I loved being able to see what orange flowers look like and how tiny each mandarin is when it starts to grow.
It’s amazing what irrigation can do in the desert.
Near the hotel is an ancient cemetery that was unfortunately looted long ago, but still has pottery shards.
