Travel Recaps: Chan Chan y Huanchaco

After our morning at Huaca de la Luna, we returned to Trujillo for lunch and then headed back out to visit some other sites for the afternoon.  The most impressive of these was Chan Chan, which is the largest pre-Colombian settlement in the Americas and consists of massive adobe palaces, built around 1300 by the Chimu people.  The one that is open to the public is just one of nine gigantic palaces and there is work being done to restore and open the other ones to the public.

In the picture above, you can see how high the walls are now, and since they are made of adobe it is likely that they used to be twice as tall as that and have eroded over time. Here are some of the highlights:

The ceremonial plaza, pictured above, is a huge space where religious ceremonies were performed.  The opening in the far wall in the picture above is where the priests would come out.  The plaza also features detailed carvings on the walls:

This wall featured squirrels--in the picture above, the ones on the left are the originals and to the right are the reconstructions.  Here is a wider view of the walls:

In a corridor outside of the plaza, there was another large mural along the wall, this time of fish:

Like the Moche at Huaca de la Luna, the Chimu lived close to the ocean and relied on fishing.
Next we reached the ceremonial rooms, which are incredibly detailed and have also been restored:

At the back of the complex, we reached the grave of the King of the Chimu:

According to our guide, when the King died, his wife and many of his servants were buried with him.  Then his son and all the surviving Chimu people had to move to a new palace, which is why there are so many similar structures in the Chan Chan complex.  By the time the tomb pictured here was found by the archaeologists, all the valuables had been looted from it, so they do not have a clear sense of the funeral customs of the Chimu.  It was another very impressive site and interesting tour.

To finish our day, we drove about 25 km to Huanchaco, which is the beach closest to Trujillo. The area is famous for its Tortora boats, so named because they resemble seahorses.  People in this area have been building these boats from reeds for centuries.  While we were there, we got to sit on the beach, eat ice cream, and watch the Tortoras bring their boats in from a day of fishing:

In these pictures, it probably helps to click on the photos to get the larger view.

And finally, here is JP posing by the statue of Tortora boats at the beach, which actual boats lined up behind him to dry off from the day. 

Trujillo was a lot of fun, and we only have two more stops on our trip before we are done recapping our adventures.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!