We left the Cordillera Blanca and re-joined the Pan American Highway on our journey North. The road follows the coast and for the most part goes through desert scenery with the occasional oasis of green. In the mornings the sea mist blocks out the sky and generally creates a pretty grey landscape. Furthermore the scenery is not helped by the amount of plastic, builders rubble and other rubbish strewn on the roadside. Peru, more than all the countries we’ve visited so far has a problem with rubbish and plastics.
Huanchaco, our destination sits just outside the major oasis city of Trujillo, named after Pizarro the Conquistador’s hometown, who claimed Peru for the Spanish King. Trujillo is now a modern city and significantly more prosperous than most of the settlements we’ve passed through since Lima. The beach resort of Huanchaco has a rocky beach and large waves that underpin its surfing resort credentials. The oasis also massively reduces the impact of the sea mist and makes this a significantly more attractive area than much of the surrounding coast.
The climate together with access to the sea created a conducive environment for civilisations to flourish in the area. The most famous civilisation was the Chimu, who lived between 1100AD and the 1470s when the Incas defeated them. The Chimu’s principal city is at Chan Chan, a massive complex of adobe buildings and temples. The complex is enclosed by large adobe walls, which have been significantly weathered by both the elements and the periodic tsunamis. Inside the walls are various ceremonial grounds with lots of carvings of fish, pelicans, squirrels and other animals on the adobe walls. The carvings and walls were originally painted, but the paint has long since weathered away and today it can only be speculated what they looked like. The principal temple has been partially restored and some of the carvings are quite sharp and well defined. Originally there were nine such temple complexes; each understood to be linked to the changing dynasties. The adobe walls of each temple complex are visible across the site and are in varying states of repair. The town of Trujillo and a number of farms encroach right onto the ruins, and this together with the changing water table is putting a lot of pressure on the site. Nevertheless the scale of the complex and the architecture that remains is an impressive site and strong evidence of a well developed culture that stands in comparison with mediaeval Europe and other locations at the same time.
To the South of Trujillo is an even older complex, the Huacas del Moche, which were built by the Moche between 600 and 900 AD. The two principal structures, the Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna are again both built in adobe. The Huaca del Sol, was the royal palace and is the largest adobe pyramid structure in South America. The Huaca del Sol is not accessible today, but the ceremonial Huaca de la Luna is accessible. Essentially the complex was built on six different levels, each being systematically buried in sand as the next level is built. Some of it has been excavated and that has revealed some remarkable murals complete with original paintwork, with reds, yellows and blues. The carvings of faces in a line of rhombuses show some quite sophisticated techniques for the period.
In addition to the big painted carvings that symmetrically line the walls is a complex mural called The Rebellion of the Artefacts which has an eclectic set of carvings of humans, the king and various animals all interacting and fighting with each other. Also in the temple is evidence of human sacrifice and the ritual slaughter of prisoners and the losers in battle. It is not clear whether the King drank the blood of the victims, but the rituals look complex and well planned.
Date: 21/05/2018 to 23/05/2018