Mochica archaeology on the Northern coast

The key moments

This trip under the sign of Mochica archaeology will satisfy all lovers of history, myths and ruins. La Ruta Moche is the name of the « road » along the northern coast of Peru and which includes the kingdoms of Moche, Chimu and Lambayeque with impressive archaeological sites, among the most famous in South America.

City Tour Trujillo « by night »
Visit the pottery and handicrafts « The Inconceivable Face », accompanied by the folk group « The Cayman »
Visit the Sun and the Moon Temple
Visit Chan Chan, World Heritage by UNESCO
Visit El Brujo and Cao Museum
Discover Huaca Rajada, the archaeological site of Sipan
Visit the archaeological site Ventarron
Visit Tumbas Reales Museum, One of the best museums in South America
Visit the National Museum of Sican
Visit the Forest Historical Sanctuary of Pomac
Visit the Pyramids and Tucume Museum
Outstanding Peruvian restaurants

Detailed itinerary

Day 1 – Trujillo – City Tour

17:35 Pick up from airport and transfer to hotel.

18:00 Arrive at the hotel. Small city tour in Trujillo by night. We are going to observe Trujillo´s architecture. The tour starts at the principal square with a view of the most beautiful main fronts of old colonial and republican houses and cathedral; then we take a short walk across Pizarro street to the traditional Emancipation´s house. In this historic house the independence of Peru was proclaimed in the nineteenth century.

19:30 Dinner at Fiesta Gourmet Restaurant.

Day 2 – Trujillo – Archaeology Mochica

08:30 Transfer to Moche’s countryside. We´ll meet a still living culture: Mochica’s heritage. First we will visit a pottery and craftsworkshop.

Mochica culture created an environment of their own, in realistic and expressive ceramic. They gave an aesthetic and thematic quality to their ceramics and it has become the best testimony of their daily and spiritual life. In the workshop, you can witness craft production, techniques and materials that were rescued by Moche´s countryside habitants.

During the visit to the workshop, the folkloric group « Los Caimanes” (The Alligators) presents a sample of some music using Moche’s traditional instruments such as pututo and ceramic trumpet.

Then, we will go to the Temples of the Sun and the Moon, great Archaeology Mochica and the Moche Temples´s Museum. The Moon temple has a number of temples built on top of each other for many years, also it has 12 thousand square meters of polychrome murals. Its rich iconography and aesthetics are of outstanding universal value which reflects a pattern that was built in about seven centuries. In the upper part of adobe bricks walls, you the upper part of adobe bricks walls, you can see the remains of many walls, decorated with figures of multicolored religious symbols; the most important is Ai-apaec or « God of the Mountains ». Also it represents an exceptional testimony of the Moche cultural tradition as it materializes political power through religious ideas.

In the museum, you will see aspects of Moche´’slife, the city and their environment. Also, you can witness the cult of power and the god of the mountains (Aia Paec), we are sure you will like rediscovering iconography and architecture Moche.

12:00 Afterwards we´ll visit the Huaca Arco Iris (rainbow temple) or Dragon. Its structure presents a series of stacked platforms from east to west. This temple was used for religious celebrations in honor of the rainbow and other natural phenomena, related to rainfall and soil fertility. It is also called Huaca El Dragon because of its figure that still exists in one of the main walls. This figure has two heads, like a dragon, with endless legs, as a centipede. The adobe walls were decorated with reliefs that represents the rainbow. It is also known as Huaca Arco Iris.

13:00 Lunch at Big Ben restaurant in Huanchaco. This village is well known for their artisanal fishermen who still fish in boats, as used hundreds of years ago by the Moches, called « reed horses ».

14:30 Last part of the day we will visit in Chan Chan archaeological complex, the Nik-An Palace. Chan Chan has been recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO. It was the capital of the Chimu Empire that flourished in the region after the fall of the Moche empire and covers an area of approximately 20 square kilometers. The central area is formed by a set of 10 walled enclosures (called « citadels ») and pyramids. The Citadel Nik-An is the largest illustration of the importance of water, particularly the sea, that Chimu culture worshipped.

The high reliefs on the walls represents fishes, directed north and south that can be interpreted as the two streams that make the Peruvian coast, the Humboldt (a cold current) coming from the south and the Child (a hot current), coming from the north as well as waves, rhombus (fishing nets), pelicans and anzumitos (mixture of sea lion and otter).

17:00 Return to hotel.

Day 3 – Trujillo – Chiclayo

07:30 Transfer to the city of Chiclayo

9:00 On the route, we will visit El Brujo´s Archaeological Complex and the Museum of Cao in Magdalena de Cao city. This is one of the most valuable sites of the Archaeology Mochica on the northern coast of Peru. It has a long cultural sequence of occupation that began in the pre-ceramic period (3000 b.C.). However, Moche culture (0-700 a.C.) has left many evidences in this area. Two discoveries have given a greater meaning to this complex. On the one side, a large adobe pyramid of 30 meters high, where Mochica culture draw in high relief, captivating new images as « The Decapitator ». On the other side, the discovery of the Dame or Lady of Cao (2006), also known as the Lady of the tattoos. In her tomb they discovered pottery and ornaments of gold, silver and copper, and others; ; Never before they an ancient Peruvian woman´s mummy with its own outfit of the warrior aristocracy.

Site Museum Cao takes us through the daily and symbolic universe of the inhabitants of this part of Peru. Here we could see customs and beliefs of the past with present day and ends with the enigmatic discovery of recent times: the Lady Cao.

13:30 Arriving in the city of Chiclayo. Lunch at Fiesta Gourmet restaurant.

15:30 Arrival at Hotel

Day 4 – Chiclayo – Archaeology Mochica

08:00 Transfer to the archaeological site Ventarrón. This place represents the rise of the first civilization of northern Peru over 4,500 years ago. In this pre-Hispanic site, you can see all architectural forms like the case of circular walls, curved walls, curved rectangular structures, altars of worship to the fire, squares in a shape like a half cross chakana and others.

Ventarrón identifies an oldest American tradition, the fire worship, and It also constitutes one of the most sophisticated temples in Peru at that time, the origin of crops domestication, political organization, the symbolism of mural art. It also represents one of the oldest civilizations but also one of the most important and sustained throughout America.

10:00 We will visit Huaca rajada. In this archaeological complex they discovered found the tomb of Lord of Sipan, the Old Lord of Sipan and his entire elite. The Lord of Sipan was one of the most powerful rulers of his time, who had absolute power of life and death over his people. The tomb of the Lord of Sipan is the best still existing example of the splendor and power of the Moche ancestors. The archaeologist discovered lots of fine gold, silver and copper jewelry. In his archaeological site exists many different tombs of the Moche elite whose are shown in an interesting museum.

13:00 Lunch in a typical restaurant “El Cantaro de Lambayeque”.

14:30 We visit Sipan’s Royal Tombs Museum, certainly one of the most impressive and modern archaeological museums in Southern America. The museum displays the wealth and ostentation in which the Lord of Sipan was buried: gold and silver,fine weaving, religious emblems and military power, and large amount of ceremonial utensils.

17:30 Arrival at Hotel.

Day 5 – Chiclayo

8:30 Transfer to Ferreñafe village. We will visit Sican National Museum, dedicated to the Sican culture. The museum shows in detail the historical process of Sican Culture,customs and activities of Sicán people. We´ll see burial garments, ornaments and patterns. Also we are able to see the famous mask with the winged eye, crowns, necklaces and ceramics and others.

10:15 Visit to Forest Historical Sanctuary Pomac, where you can visit Huaca Las Ventanas and observe Huaca Loro. At these sites, archaeologists are still investigating, discovering the secrets of the people Sicán. These two pyramids, together with other 15, are part of Sican Archaeological Complex – Forest Pómac (formerly known as Batan Grande Reserved Zone), which is one of the most important archeological sites in all of South America, composed of pyramids that in splendor they were an administrative and religious center of the powerful Sican culture.

12:30 Lunch in Restaurant Hotel Los Horcones Túcume.

13:30 Finally in the afternoon we will visit the Valley of the Pyramids in Túcume. This archeological site was the last capital of the Lambayeque and Chimu kingdom that flourished before the arrival of the Incas in northern Peru. This complex is one of the most important pre-Hispanic monuments of the north coast of Peru. Its magnitude and extent is about 220 acres. It has twenty monumental architectural buildings associated with other buildings: beds, mounds, patios, canal systems, walls, and other structures that are a reflection of a system of planned growth and a complex social structure. Here Túcume lords resided with the luxuries of semi gods in huge palaces decorated with drawings of mythical and ritual content, furnished and exquisite jewelry, surrounded by priests, administrators, servants and skilled craftsmen.

Now it has been open to the public, Huaca Las Balsas, whose central theme is marine nature: birds and waves, birds and mythical bird men, deities ready to paddle on a boat surrounded with nets catching fish and seabirds.

15:30 Transfer to the airport.

End of our service.

Budget

We provide our tour plans as an example for you to get inspired and an idea of how your travel in northern Peru could look like.

Once you have your trip in mind, we are happy to create with you your dream trip according to the length of your stay. We suggest you interesting sites to visit, nice places to stay, how to get there and if you should choose a guide to travel with you in order to discover a more confidential side of Peru.

The Program Includes

Private transport
Bilingual tour conductor Spanish – English
All the tickets to the archeological sites and nature reserves
All meals as mentioned in the program
The accommodation as indicated in the program

Not included

Regional flights
Alcoholic drinks

[tabbyending]