The Moche Route tour

Transfer from Trujillo airport to the hotel. Today you have leisure day to visit the City.

This morning we start our tour visiting Chan Chan. The imposing ruins of Chan Chan are situated just outside the city of Trujillo.

This impressive mud brick citadel has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Covering an area of 20 square kilometers, Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu kingdom, is composed of ten walled citadels, the streets and narrow passageways of which give way to broad plazas, terraces and truncated pyramids, evidence of the high degree of urban planning engaged in by the Chimu.

Later on we continue to Huanchaco where you will enjoy a typical coastal lunch. Here you will be impressed by the small traditional reed boats used by fishermen today, exactly as they were used by their forefathers hundreds of years ago.

After breakfast, you will picked up at your hotel by your guide and together you will head north to the city of Chiclayo. En route you will visit El Brujo, an archaeological site only recently opened to the public in 2006. Much like Huaca de la Luna, this site features tiers of polychromatic friezes and also served as a religious and sacrificial complex. Museo Cao, is just a short walking distance from the actual site, and contains a variety of captivating artifacts including collections of pottery, textiles, and golden regalia, along with the bones of Moche royalty and human sacrifices. Perhaps the site’s greatest discovery was the Moche mummy of the only known female ruler, justifiably referred to as Señora de Cao, whose remains are also on display in the museum. After your visit, you will continue to your hotel in Chiclayo.

In the afternoon, transfer to the incredible pyramids of Túcume located north of Chiclayo. Spanning 218 hectares/540 acres and with 26 monumental adobe pyramids, Túcume was built in c. 1100 AD and is thought to have been a regional centre for successive cultures – the Sicán (750-1000 AD), Chimu (1350-1450 AD) and Inca (1450-1532 AD). The area is said to possess spiritual powers which local Shaman tap into when performing rituals. Take a look inside the small site museum that details the treasures found in and around the pyramids, visit the charming community run gift shop, and stroll through the shady algorrobo tree forest.

This morning continue to the Tumbas Reales Museum. Located 20 minutes from Chiclayo, the museum houses the world famous collection of burial artifacts from the Lord of Sipán tomb and other tombs uncovered at the Huaca Rajada archaeological site. Built to resemble the ancient tombs from which the artifacts were sourced, the museum also serves to provide visitors with insight into the process of the excavations. Explore the museum and its incredible jewelry, pottery, and human remains that were discovered at Sipán before heading to Huaca Rajada, the actual archaeological site located 35km from Chiclayo.

Later on we transfer you to the airport for your flight back to Lima and home.