| - The Chan Chan Ruins
- The Balneario of Huanchaco.
Province of Trujillo
Main Square of Trujillo
Following the orders of Diego de Almagro, Martin de Astete drew up this square as the center of the city. In the central part of the main square, you can see the monument of La Libertad, a Baroque marble sculpture, work of the German, Edmund Müller.
Cathedral of Trujillo
Main square. Telephone: (044) 23-5083 (Cathedral Museum). Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 7:00 A.M. 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. 9:00 P.M.
Built in 1666, it stores precious works of art, specifically paintings of the Cusco School as well as sculptures.
Cathedral Museum
Located inside the Cathedral of Trujillo
Here are kept objects related to liturgy, carvings, and paintings of the colonial period; among these, two canvasses stand out: "La Negación de San Pedro" (The Denial of Saint Peter) and the portrait of John the Baptist. Characteristics of this building are its ceiling ornamented with polychromatic beams and the crypt decorated with murals of the Apostles.
Iglesia Belén (Bethlehem Church)
Intersection of Calle Almagro and Calle Ayacucho
Its construction began in 1680 and ended in 1708. It was built with adobe, brick, and quincha (anti-seismic construction material). The entrance of the facade is marked by two towers with triangular pilasters. In the interior, the arches, pilasters, and pillars correspond to seventeenth century Trujillo tradition.
Plazuela El Recreo (El Recreo Square)
Jiron Pizarro, 9th Block
This old square with its impressive facade points out the road to the highlands. In 1986, it was restored, and the old fountain that once was in the Main Square is now there. You can also see the water tank that fed the lots of land in colonial time.
Monasterio El Carmen (El Carmen Monastery)
Intersection of Calle Colon and Calle Bolivar. Telephone: (044) 24-823. Visiting hours: Mon. Sat. 9:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.
Built in 1759, it is one of the best architectural complexes of the city. It consists of a temple and a two-cloister convent. The gallery maintains an important collection of approximately 150 canvases, mainly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The canvases of the Quito and the Flamenco Schools are the main attractions.
Iglesia San Agustin (San Agustin Church)
Jiron Bolívar 508. Visiting hours: Mon. Sat. 8:00 A.M. 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M 8:00 P.M.
It dates back to the seventeenth century. The main altar is gold leafed, and the pulpit is of Baroque style.
Iglesia de San Francisco (St. Francis Church)
Intersection of Jiron Independencia and Jiron Gamarra. Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 8:00 A.M. 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. 8:00 P.M.
This Baroque church was built in the eighteenth century. The main altar, the polychromatic altarpieces, and the pulpit are its most important features. You can see figures of the Holy Scriptures and passages of the lives of some saints in the ornamentations. Today, the Colon Theatre is located on what used to be the convent.
Iglesia de La Merced (Mercy Church)
Jiron Francisco Pizarro 550. Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Originally built in 1536, it was destroyed in 1619 by an earthquake and rebuilt in 1634. The architectural structure, unlike other churches in the city of Trujillo, was built at the center of a block and not a corner as usual for this type of monuments. Its main facade is of Baroque style and, instead of bell towers, it has a two parapets. The interior art work is of great value with pieces such as the main altar (originally belonging to the Iglesia de la Compañia) and the lateral altarpieces with paintings from the seventeenth century.
Iturregui Palace
Jiron Pizarro 668. Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 11:00 A.M. 6:00 P.M.
Constructed in the nineteenth century, it is an example of Neo-classical civil architecture. The columns, the window bars, and the Italian marble statues catch the eyes. Today it is the headquarters of Club Central.
Mayorazgo de Facala House
Jiron Pizarro 314. Visiting hours: Mon. Fri.9:15 A.M. 12:30 P.M.
It has a large main patio and an ancient well. From the outside, you can view its corner Mudejar style balcony. In this house, a valuable money collection is kept.
Bracamonte House
Jiron Independencia 44, Main Square. Restricted visits
It represents two eras since it combines Vice royal elements of the eighteenth century with Republican elements of the nineteenth. The facade is characterized by a huge, wooden front door and traditional windows with carefully worked iron bars. Inside there are pleasant patios.
Ganoza Chopitea House
Jiron Independencia 630. Visiting hours: Mon. Fri.9:15 A.M. 12:30 P.M. and 2:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M.
For many specialists, this is the most representative house of Trujillo architectural style. The Baroque entrance uses many shades of color, and the Rococo front with the two lions (for which it is also known as the House of the Lion Facade) draws your eye. Complementing the style of the house are the Mannerist walls, Imperial windows, and the Neo-baroque balcony.
Casa del Mariscal de Orbegoso (Marshall of Orbegoso House)
Jiron Orbegoso 553. Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 9:30 A.M. 8:00 P.M.
This residence preserves the traditional Vice-royal character marked by stone floors, worked doors, and halls distributed in an elevated terrace. In its rooms, important collections of furniture, silver, canvases, and mirrors are exhibited. Likewise, temporary expositions are arranged.
Casa de la Emancipación (Emancipation House)
Jr. Pizarro 610. Visiting hours: Mon Sat.9:15 A.M. 12:30 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. 6:30 P.M.
In this place, also known as De Madalengoitia, the Marquis of Torre Tagle prepared the Trujillo declaration of independence in 1820. It was the site of the First Constituent Congress and later, the house from where President Riva Agüero ruled. This house is also called Civic Sanctuary of Trujillo. It also houses exhibitions.
Calonge or Urquiaga House
Jr. Pizarro 446. Visiting hours: Mon. Fri.9:30 A.M. 3:00 P.M.; Sat. Sun. 10:00 A.M. 1:30 P.M.
It is the site of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. It is a neo-classical house and has been converted into a museum where gold ornaments of the Chimu culture, the desk of Liberator Simon Bolivar, and furniture belonging to the Vice-royal and Republican epochs are displayed.
Museo de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia de la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (The National University of Trujillo Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History)
Jiron Junin 682. Telephone (044) 24-9322. Visiting hours: Mon 9:00A.M. 2:45 P.M. ; Tues. Fri. 9:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. 7:00 P.M.; Sat. Sun. 9:00 A.M. 4:00 P.M.
Archeological remnants related to the different pre-Hispanic cultures that developed in the department of La Libertad are displayed here. The museum is located in the Risco House, famous for its patios decorated with murals. Ceramic objects, jewelry, clothing, and feather mosaic are the highlights of the exhibitions.
Museo del Juguete (Toy Museum)
Jiron Independencia 705. Telephone: (044) 208181. Visiting hours: Mon. Sat. 10:00 A.M. 6:00 P.M.
It shows the transformation of the toy through the centuries, from the pre-Hispanic era up to the 1950's. Toys from different parts of the world can be seen that reflect the customs, fashion, and socio-cultural parameters of the countries they come from.
Zoological Museum
Jr. San Martin 368. Visiting hours: Mon. Fri. 8:00 P.M. 7:00 P.M., Sat. 8:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.
Different species of regional and Peruvian fauna are shown: birds, fish, reptiles, insects, and camelids.
Museo de Arqueología José Cassinelli (Jose Cassinelli Museum of Archeology)
Av. Nicolas de Pierola 607. Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 9:30 A.M. 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. 7:00 P.M.
A display of fine archeological objects from the Mochica, Chimu, and Recuay cultures.
Citadel of Chan Chan
5 km / 3 miles northeast of Trujillo, in the Moche Valley (10 minutes by car). Telephone: (044) 20-6304 (Site Museum). Visiting hours: Mon. Sun. 9:00 A.M. 4:00 P.M.
This pre-Hispanic urban center represents the largest mud city in pre-Hispanic America. In 1986, it was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Chan Chan might have been the capital of the Chimu kingdom, originally including over twenty square kilometers, from the nearby Port of Huanchaco to the Campana Hill. Archeologists estimate that it lodged over a hundred thousand people. Plazas, houses, warehouses, workshops, streets, walls, and pyramidal temples are clearly defined in its structure. Its enormous walls are profusely decorated with reliefs of geometric figures, zoomorphic stylizations, and mythological creatures. The journey through the archeological site is complemented with a visit of the Site Museum.
Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna
8 km / 5 miles south of the city of Trujillo (15 minutes by car). Visiting hours: Mon. Sun.9:00 A.M. 4:00 P.M.
Huaca del Sol functioned as the political-administrative center, and Huaca de la Luna as the ceremonial center. The urban zone is located between the two and is composed of houses, large avenues, alleys, corridors, and squares. These components confirm the high level of political, religious, economic, and social organization of the Moches.
Huaca de la Luna is made up of temples superimposed according to the different periods of the Mochica power. In some walls, beautiful polychromatic murals can be seen, whose clearly defined figures represent the god Ai-apaec. In the temple, archeologists have discovered a tomb with more than forty sacrificed warriors. For the time being the tourist visit only includes Huaca de la Luna.
The Dragon Huaca or Arco Iris (The Rainbow)
4 km / 3 miles from the city of Trujillo (10 minutes by car)
This adobe pyramid is especially important since its construction was done at the beginning of the Chimu culture and at the end of the Tiahuanuco-Wari culture between the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. Its estimated age is 1100 years. The building has a square base and walls decorated with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations in high relief. The name of the Dragon cames from one of these figures, a two-headed creature with uncountable feet, similar to a dragon.
Researchers consider that one of the purposes of this place was ceremonial (it would have been linked to rituals in honor of the rainbow and other natural phenomena related to fertility).
The Emerald Huaca
3 km / 2 miles from the city of Trujillo, in the El Cortijo Production Co-op (8 minute by car)
This archeological site is associated to the Chimu culture and was built linked to Chan Chan. The building has a rectangular base (65 meters / 213 feet long and 41 meters / 135 feet wide) and two platforms with central ramps. The adobe walls are decorated with zoomorphic and geometric motifs in high relief.
Huanchaco Beach Resort
13 km / 8 miles northwest of Trujillo (15 minutes by car)
According to the legend, 800 years ago Prince Tacaynamo and his court disembarked in Huanchaco and founded the first Chimu dynasty. The traditional rafts called the "caballitos de totora" (little horses of totora reeds), used by the fishermen in the north coast of Peru since pre-Columbian times, still navigate these water. It is one of the most popular beaches along the coast of Peru for surfers. |
