CHAN CHAN: THE MUD CITY
Chan Cha, the Capital of the Chimu Empire, is the largest mud city in
the valley of Moche near Trujillo. It was built between the XII and XIV
centuries. It is believed that the city housed around 100 thousand
people and that it was built with 240 million adobe bricks. Chan
Chan is a labyrinth city that consisted of nine Royal Compounds that
have streets, channels, reservoirs, squares and pyramidal temples.
The Compounds have been named after the archeologist and
explores who discovered them or studied them. One of the most
famous and best preserved compounds is Tschudi; Named after
Juan Diego Tschudi, a Swiss naturalist (1818 – 1889), this
compound has only one entrance and twelve meters-high walls
which are wider at the bottom than at the top. The walls have high
relief figures resembling fish. In fact, most of the city walls are
decorated with mythical scenes, geometrical and zoomorphic
shapes and highly realistic figures. In 1985 UNESCO declared Chan
Chan Mankind’s Historical Monument. Come visit the Mud City and
its site museum, and be part of those who have enjoyed this long
lasting magnificent city.
TRUJILLO: THE SPRING CITY
Trujillo is a wonderful colonial style city whose houses show different
architectural styles. Trujillo is the most important economic and cultural
center of the north located on the valley of the Moche River in the region
of La Libertad. Founded in 1534, it took its name in honor of the
Spanish city of Trujillo de Extremadura, the place where Francisco
Pizarro was born. In the old times, the Mochicas, Lambayeques and
Chimus inhabited the area. The Chimus left the most beautiful pre-Inca
piece of architecture: The City of Chan Chan. It is considered the
biggest adobe construction in America. In the outskirts of the city, there
are other significant cities as valuable as Chan Chan. They are El
Brujo, la Huaca Dragon, and the Huacas of the Sun and the Moon.
These constructions are very old from pre Columbian data. During
republican times, the city developed thanks to agriculture, and big
ranches producing sugar cane and cotton appeared. But Trujillo is not
only monuments and ranches; it is also a very joyful city, known as
home of Marinera dance, the most elegant dance of the country and a
symbol for its people. The Peruvian Stepping Horse (Caballo Peruano
de Paso) is another of Trujillo’s symbols. If you visit the city, you must
also go to the beaches, famous for the ancient Caballitos de Totora
and for having the best waves for surfing. Trujillo has so many
attractions that it is the place to visit on the coast of Peru.