TRUJILLO Tours

One of the most beautiful cities in Peru, Trujillo was founded in 1534 by Peru's conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it after his birthplace in Spain. This colonial and republican city, 560 km. (350 miles) north of Lima, flourished when numerous families of nobles settled there to exploit the gold and silver mines and the large sugar plantations.

Trujillo, with its year-round spring-like climate, is full of tradition and aristocratic mansions. The Chimu, who ruled the north coast before the Inca conquest, built their capital at nearby Chan Chan, considered to be the largest mud-brick city in the world. Just south of Trujillo lies the imposing 130-foot high Moche pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the center of Moche power from 100 to 600 AD and the tallest adobe structure in the Americas.

West of Trujillo is Huanchaco, a charming fishing village. As their ancestors did centuries ago, fishermen here still ride the waves in fragile reed boats called "caballito de totora".