Moche Route Chiclayo and Trujillo

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Meet our welcome staff at the bus station/airport and transfer to your accommodation.  The flight from Lima to Chiclayo should be in the morning.

About 14:00 you will be picked up from your hotel to head north of Lambayeque direction Tucume, which to the untrained eye might appear at first glance more like a group of highly eroded foothills than what they are, the biggest archaeological opencast complex in the world, in the middle of an arid desert with a beautiful dry forest, with a vast area with more than 200 hectares of crumbling walls, plazas and 26 religious groups.

The pyramids you see today are a composite of structures made by several civilizations. The lower levels belonged to the Sicán, while the next two levels, along with the distinctive surrounding walls, were added by the Chimú

Most of the archaeological excavations at Túcume remain closed to the public. But recently on the southwestern edge of the pyramid valley, researchers have opened Huaca de las Balsas, an amazing excavated site that forms part of a small complex of truncated pyramids that carbon date to around 1100 C.E. Its dramatic mud relief murals reveal a Moche-inspired cosmovision of the inhabitants. The excavated fireplaces, kitchen, food remnants and human and animal remains offer a glimpse into their domestic lifestyle.

Time to get back to Chiclayo city

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Pick up from your hotel at 09:00 aprox. This will be one of the most exciting days of your entire journey that as you will visit the last resort of the Lord of Sipan, the Huaca Rajada archeological site, where the remains of the Moche mummy, considered to be as important as that of Tutankhamun in Egypt, was found in 1987. This Moche Lord was an elite member of the society and perhaps the ruler of the entire Lambayeque Valley. His tomb was found filled with gold, silver, copper, fabric, shells, ceramics, jewelry, knives, food, sacrificed animals along with three warriors, two women, a child, a dog (probably his favorite pet) and two llamas.
Return to Chiclayo at city at 12:00 and free time to lunch.

At about 14:00 transfer from your hotel to the great , Sipan Museum a must-see for lovers of archeology. This is, perhaps the greatest museum in Peru with an interesting and modern design and three floors of ancient history, the museum housed a replica of the famous Sipan Burial Chamber showing how the Lord was buried with all the gold and silver artifacts, precious stones, jewelry and headdresses that were found in the tomb.

At the indicated time transfer to the bus station for a 3 ½ hour journey to Trujillo in a local bus without stops. Arrival, welcome by our staff and transfer to your accommodation.

MAKE IT DIFFERENT

Take a private trip from Trujillo to Chiclayo instead of using public transportation and be able to stop in San Jose de Moro, El Brujo and Lady of Cao all of them great archaeological complexes.

Ask our expert travel advisors to upgrade your experience

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Lunch

Explore Trujillo’s most important archeological sites this one big day trip that includes temples from both the Moche and Chimú cultures.  Start at the Sun and the Moon temples that are two pyramids constructed from millions of handmade adobe bricks by the Moche people between about 200 and 850 AD. Successive generations have added new platforms on top of the existing structure, such that each one grew higher and higher.  Both pyramids played important roles in the life of the Moche culture. The Temple of the Sun was used especially for political and administrative functions, while the Temple of the Moon provided religious and ceremonial functions, where ancient priests used to carry out human sacrifices to please their Gods during the disaster caused by the natural phenomenon, El Nino, which brought floods, tragedy and death to these lands.  Despite the time and the roughness of the desert over hundreds of years, the intricate carvings and reliefs of walls are still remarkably clear and vivid showing bloody rituals and the mighty Moche God, AIA-PAEC.

Enjoy some free time to relax while having a freshly caught seafood lunch in Huanchaco, a cozy fishing village and a paradise for surfers. While eating, you’ll have a great view of the Pacific Ocean and be amazes at the incredible abilities of the coastal fishermen riding their reed rafts called “Caballitos de Totora”.

Your day will continue with the visit of the Arco Iris Temple, also known as Temple of El Dragon or Temple of the Rainbow.  This adobe pyramid temple was a transition between the Moche and Chimu culture and has two platforms that are adorned with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations in high reliefs.  The name of the Dragon came from one of these figures, a two-headed creature with uncountable feet, similar to a dragon.

After lunch head to your last stop of the day the former capital of the Chimu Kingdom, Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian adobe city in America, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1986, that reached its apogee in the 15th century, not long before falling to the Incas.  This amazing archaeological site still expresses truthfully the essence of the monumental urban landscape of the former Chimu capital, where this great culture celebrated its major festivities and sacrifices in a city with high walls, courtyards, gardens, terraces, barns and ceremonial plazas. Marvel at its expansive walled adorned with friezes.

Your day trip ends with hotel drop-off in Trujillo

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Trujillo flourished during the Spanish colonial era. Sugarcane farms boomed and helped finance impressive churches and large houses, some of them will be visited during this tour.

After hotel pick up about 09:00 am, your Trujillo sightseeing tour will start at the city’s Main Square or Plaza de Armas with its very famous Freedom Monument, a large statue created by German artist Edmund Möeller, your guide will explain the historical and architectural development of this important monument. You will then head to the Cathedral, a big colonial building with its beautiful altarpieces. Next, visit the Urquiaga Calonge house, a colonial mansion now owned by the National bank of Peru (Banco Central de Reserva) and considered a historic mansion because the Libertador Simon Bolivar stayed there for some days (closed in the afternoon). You will then walk to the pedestrian Pizarro street to visit on the way La Merced Church and the Emancipation mansion with its beautiful neo-classic windows.

Finally, you will visit the Archaeological Museum of the National University of Trujillo located in the Risco mansion. This visit will allow us to have a general vision of the prehispanic development of the Region with different civilizations like Moches or Chimus.

Your tour ends with hotel drop off about 12:30

At the designated time transfer to the Trujillo airport (an afternoon flight should be considered) or bus station.