Description of the attraction
The ruins of Chan Chan are located 5 km northwest of the city of Trujillo, in the once fertile valley of the Moche River. This city was the largest in pre-Hispanic America. Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimu Kingdom (700-1400 AD) and covered an area of over 20 square kilometers with the port of Huanchaco Cerro Campana. Archaeologists believe that over 100,000 people lived here.
Once the huge capital of the Chimu Kingdom, today it is a huge labyrinth of massive walls, many of which are badly destroyed. But you can see and appreciate the remains of well-planned streets that intersect at right angles. Complex hydraulic structures, which brought water from considerable distances in the territories of Mochiku and Chikama, are still visible and can be confidently called a miracle of technology even today. Among the structures, one can recognize cemeteries and other objects that may have been markets, workshops and barracks.
Chan-Chan consisted of 10 large rectangular sectors of regular shape. Each sector was surrounded by high walls, fencing streets, houses large and small, pyramids, food storage rooms and water tanks. Remains of houses with different ceiling heights and a limited number of doors and windows have survived. There are houses with one room, low ceilings and one front door without windows. The huge walls are lavishly decorated with geometric shapes and stylized zoomorphic and mythological creatures.
The Chan Chan ruins were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. In 2010, the UNESCO World Heritage Center began work on a project to preserve the ruins of Chan Chan from destruction. Volunteers from Spain, France, Belgium, Romania and South Korea are currently working on this project.
