Peñico, the 3,800-year-old citadel in Peru, is now open to tourists.

A 3,800-year-old citadel of the Caral civilization, one of the oldest in the world, located in northern Peru, opened its doors to the public this weekend after eight years of research and restoration work.

The new archaeological site, called Peñico, has been hailed as "the city of social integration" because it was the meeting point for trade between the earliest communities on the Pacific coast and those from the Andes and Amazon regions.

Peñico is located in the Supe Valley, 182 kilometers north of Lima and about 20 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean.

"It was an organized urban center dedicated to agriculture and trade between the coast, mountains, and jungle. It dates back to 1,800 to 1,500 BC," archaeologist Ruth Shady, who leads research on the Caral civilization, told AFP.

It was an organized urban center dedicated to agriculture and commercial exchange between the coast, mountains and jungle.

The monument was built on a geological terrace 600 meters above sea level, parallel to a river to prevent flooding. Researchers estimate it was formed at the same time as the first civilizations flourished in the Middle East and Asia.

The archaeologist indicated that its historical importance lies in the contribution of elements that will allow us to better understand the crisis faced by this civilization . She specified that this situation was related to climate change, generating droughts and affecting agricultural activities in the area.

"We want to understand how the Caral civilization formed and developed over time, as it entered into crisis due to climate change," he added.

Its inhabitants had to abandon urban centers , as happened in Northern Mesopotamia, he explained.

The opening to tourism began with the blowing of the pututus (conch shell) and an ancestral ritual of offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth). This ritual consists of offering agricultural products, coca leaves, and traditional drinks such as chicha de jora (corn) to the earth to give thanks for its bounty and pray for prosperity. It was performed by a shaman, artists, and local residents.

" What we are presenting involves research and the conservation of buildings that are ready for the public with a tourist circuit," archaeologist Marco Machacuay told AFP.

In the intense heat, dozens of local tourists arrived in Peñisco by bus, taking advantage of the free entry. "I'm surprised because all these slopes were just hills and sand. Now that I'm back after almost 25 years, I see there's still work to be done," Armando Tapia, a 62-year-old engineer who arrived from Lima, told AFP.

"It's very important to know this place. It's a source of pride for me as a person because my roots come from this area," said 46-year-old administrator Lidia Flores, who came with her two children.

It's very important to know this place. It's a source of pride for me as a person because my roots come from this area.

In the investigations carried out by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture , 18 structures have been identified, including buildings and residential complexes.

Among them, the Pututos Ceremonial Hall stands out, where these musical instruments can be seen represented on the walls of a quadrangular hall.

In this building , sculptures made of unfired clay were found representing anthropomorphic characters, zoomorphic figures, and ceremonial objects, according to Shady.

Exploration work at Peñico began in 2017, on what was then a hilly terrain. " We didn't think we'd find buildings and a ceremonial hall beneath the hills ," Machacuay noted.

The new archaeological site joins other monuments open to tourism in Caral, such as the sacred city of Caral, the fishing town of Áspero and the agricultural fishing town of Vichama .

"Peñico represents a link in the long history of Andean civilization," he said.

Developed between 3000 and 1800 BC, the Caral civilization is considered the mother culture of America.

Caral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2009.