South & Central America
Highlights - Essential Info - Itineraries
- Arequipa
- Cusco
- Lake Titicaca & Puno
- Lima
- Machu Picchu
- Nazca Lines
- Pisco, Ica & Paracas National Reserve
- Sacred Valley of the Incas
- The Amazon Rainforest
- The Colca Canyon
- The Inca Trail
- Trujillo & Chiclayo
Trujillo & Chiclayo
The northern coastal strip of Peru is home to a wealth of ancient and fascinating archaeological treasures and Trujillo is the gateway to this wonderful region.
The Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon) is a ceremonial-urban site considered to be one of the most important of all for the Moche, a fascinating pre-Inca Andean civilization, who ruled over a relatively small coastal region from around 100 to 900 AD. The Pyramid of the Sun was once the largest man-made structure in the western hemisphere reaching a height of 45m. The Pyramid of the Moon is a little smaller, but has some wonderfully colourful paintings and reliefs inside, which are still in remarkably good condition. The Moche didn’t have a written language, but instead left a rich artistic legacy manifested in the vivid imagery of their highly colourful and beautifully modelled ceramics.
Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimu empire, which was finally conquered by the Incas in 1471. This remarkable ruined city stretching over 28 sq km consists of nine large compounds built over many years by the Chimu kings and is surrounded by a 9 metre high perimeter wall. Despite the floods and earthquakes over the years, parts of it are still well-preserved and UNESCO has played a large part in securing its preservation. Inside one can see the remains of the palaces, temples, streets, houses and gardens and it is still possible to see some of the decorative motifs on the adobe walls. It is also possible to see the irrigation canal that supplied the city with water in this arid region and a system that the Incas copied years later.
Further to the north, outside the city of Chiclayo and built in the traditional style of a Moche pyramid, the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan offer a fascinating display and dramatization of the life of the Sipan Lord and his royal court. It is possible to see a wide variety of beautifully ornate funerary paraphernalia such as metal and ceramic artefacts.
Our preferred hotels are:
Libertador - Plaza Mayor Hotel (Trujillo)
El Gran Marques (Trujillo)
Gran Hotel (Chiclayo)
