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The North Tours
Area Map, click to enlarge
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: |
