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The North of Peru is rich and full of interesting places
such as Trujillo, Chiclayo and the lost world of the Chachapoyas.
The Pre-Columbian Chachapoyas culture, conquered in the 15th century by the
Incas, has left a landscape scattered with villages and burial sites which
until recently had been largely overlooked by archaeologists. Situated in
the cloud forests around the town of Chachapoyas in Peru’s northern Amazonas
Department, these sites are dominated by the mighty fortress of Kuelap,
perched majestically atop mountain-top cliffs overlooking the verdant Andean
landscape. In Chachapoyas, remnants of the past invite discovery by the bold
adventurer, and the cultures of the present extend a friendly welcome.
In Chiclayo you will visit the tomb of the Lord of Sipan (the richest tomb
discovered in the Americas), the Valley of the 26 pyramids of Tucume and
Bruning Museum where there is an interesting collection of gold artifacts
and ceramics
The pyramids of the Sun and Moon, just south of Trujillo, are the largest
structures ever put up in South America, and are second in the Western
Hemisphere only to the Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico, in size. They formed the
spiritual center of the Moche Empire, a highly sophisticated yet mysterious
culture that pre-dated the Incas by nearly 1000 years. It is quite certain
that the Moche Indians had contact with other civilizations in the ancient
Americas, and there is good reason to believe they may have been influenced
by Asian ocean- going voyagers as well. The Pyramid of the Moon contains a
central, vaulted chamber, and the mountain directly behind, Cerro Blanco,
appears to have been shaped by humans into a pyramid form as well. Despite
their achievements in architecture, metal-working, and ceramics (one can
still find countless pottery shards in the sands surrounding the site), the Moche were very militaristic, and scenes from their pottery depict ritual
bloodletting and torture. They may have evolved a system of “black” magic
that aided them in their conquests of neighboring peoples, or they may have
taken spiritual teachings from Asia and twisted their meanings into bizarre
new practices over the centuries. Huanchaco is a fishing town where
“caballitos de totora” are still used by the local inhabitants, who venture
into the cold currents of the Pacific in these precarious-looking reed
boats. This massive adobe city, really a series of royal compounds built by
the Chimu, was a major source of gold for both the Incas, and later, for the
Spanish. Though well-looted over the centuries, gold artifacts still
occasionally appear in the drifting sands. Contacts between Chan Chan and
the Asian continent have never been proven, but there are tantalizing hints.
Pottery figures depict Asiatic men with beards and turbans; even the name
“Chan Chan” seems to be Chinese in origin. Don’t miss the famous
“honeycombs,” where strange acoustic effects allow visitors to whisper to
each other over long distances inside the adobe structures. Also visit The
small city of Huaráz, the hub for all hiking activity and Chavin de Huantar,
the most representative Ceremonial center of the high Peruvian Culture with
3000 years older, Chavin is considered to be the first high Peruvian
Culture.
We offer 3 exciting tours in this area , please make a choice:
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