Huanchaco Photos


Although a surf town during other parts of the year, the main draw for tourists come here during this season are the nearby pre-Inca archaeological sites. The ancient adobe cities of Chan Chan and Moche and their surrounding temples were well worth the visit. The whole area felt more like Egypt than Peru. The enormity of Chan Chan was astounding, stretching far into the distance. Only a small part is open to tourists though. My favorite section was a man made reservoir designed to fit neatly inside a small section of the city walls.

The city of Moche isn't well preserved, but the two huge temples on its shoulders are. Referred to as the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon today, their original names are not known. The Temple of the Sun is under excavation now and is not yet open to the public. The Temple of the Moon is open to the public, but only in tour groups. As I was waiting for the next English tour to start, I started talking to a bunch of 14 year old Peruvian kids who were there as part of a school trip. They were very excited to hear that I was from the U.S. and that I'd been traveling for so long. They asked me many questions varying from how to say certain Spanish phrases in English to what country had the best food to whether the U.S. uses Pesos as its currency. They were an extraordinarily happy bunch and were quite patient with my elementary Spanish. Each one made sure to shake my hand before leaving.

The Moche temples were built in multiple stages over centuries. Instead of the normal method of expanding by adding-on, each time they filled in the previous temple with mud and then built a larger temple on top of it and around it. In the case of the Temple of the Moon, this happened five times. We will never be able to see any of the older temples in their entirety because to do so would mean destroying the newer outer temples. However, there are spots that have been damaged, either by grave robbers or weather, where you can see down into the older temples. Apparently, death was a big part of the temples' function. People were sacrificed there on a regular basis and nobles were entombed there.