Chan Chan
On our first full day in Trujillo, we visited Chan Chan, the ancient imperial capital of the desert kingdom of Chimor.
In Peru, desert civilizations evolved in parallel with the mountain civilizations (which culminated with the Incas). The Chimu were the last desert civilization, and their kingdom was the second-largest native state in South America. At the maximum extent, it stretched for 1000km along the Pacific coastline. They were finally conquered by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui in 1470 AD after an 11 year siege, and integrated into Tiwatinsuyu, the Inca kingdom.
The fall of the Chimu was in part due to the society being weakened by drought, believed to have be caused by El Niño.Indeed, the site was damaged in 1925 and 1983 by heavy rain and flooding, also related to El Niño.
At it's maximum extent, the city of Chan Chan covered 28 square kilometers. The site is now a UNESCO heritage site. Much of it is in very bad condition, and the city of Trujillo has extended into parts of the site. One part - the Tschudi complex - has been restored to some extent, and can be visited.
The receptionist at our hotel warned us that the site might be closed, as it was Father's Day, but we decided to chance it, and hired a taxi to bring is there. Fortunately, it was open, and so we spent a couple of hours wandering around the site.
5-5 (of 5 found)