Route
Miraflores ──── road, ~40 km, ~1 h ──── Pachacamac
│
Site museum ─ Painted Temple ─ Temple of the Sun
You can run a marathon on Sunday and spend Monday morning walking round a religious capital that was old when the Incas arrived. Pachacamac sits on a bluff above the Pacific about 40 km southeast of Lima. People came here to consult an oracle for roughly a thousand years before the Inca took it over, and the site still covers a great deal of ground. The temples are mud-brick and stone, now the colour of the surrounding desert.
The journey from Miraflores takes about an hour in light traffic, longer on the Pan-American Highway south at rush hour. A taxi hired for the round trip with a waiting time is the simplest option, or book a small-group tour from a Miraflores hotel. Agree the price and the waiting time before you set off.
May at Pachacamac
May is autumn on the Peruvian coast. The sky is grey with a layer of marine cloud called garúa, the temperature sits near 19 to 22 °C and the air is damp. Take a fleece. Rain is almost unknown, but the site offers no shade, so bring a hat and sunscreen for the hours when the cloud lifts.
Walking the site
Start at the site museum near the entrance, which holds ceramics, textiles and a carved wooden idol associated with the oracle. It has benches, which is useful. Then walk the main path, which is wide, sandy and mostly level, though ramps climb to the bigger temples.
The Painted Temple has a few remaining traces of red paint on its walls. The Temple of the Sun, built by the Inca, is the largest structure and is reached by a ramp. Climb it if your legs allow, since the view over the Lurín valley and the Pacific is the reward, but the steps are steep and uneven, and going down is harder than going up after 42 km. The Mamacona, a building where chosen women lived, sits nearby. Many visitors take a vehicle between the sectors, and the site allows cars on its main road. Ask at the ticket office what the current rules are.
Entry has a modest fee, and guides at the gate offer tours. Check the current opening days and prices before you go, since the site has varied its hours in the past.
Lunch
There is a small café at the site, and restaurants in the Lurín valley serve fish and ceviche. Many visitors return to Miraflores for lunch at one of the restaurants near Huaca Pucllana.
Getting home
Return by the same taxi or tour transfer. Jorge Chávez airport (LIM) is on the northern side of Lima, so allow extra time if flying out the same evening. Check the site timetable and transport options before you set off.