15 Best Sights in Trujillo, The North Coast and Northern Highlands

With its strange, honeycomb-like walls and labyrinth of wavelike parapets, this sprawling ancient capital is the largest adobe city in the world. Its surreal geometry once held boulevards, aqueducts, gardens, palaces, and some 10,000 dwellings. Within its precincts were nine royal compounds, one of which, the royal palace of Tschudi, has been partially restored and opened to the public. Although the city began with the Moche civilization, the Chimú people took control of the region 300 years later and expanded the city to its current size. Although less known than the Incas, who conquered them in 1470, the Chimú were the second-largest empire in South America. Their territory stretched along 1,000 km (620 miles) of the Pacific, from Lima to Tumbes.

Before entering this UNESCO World Heritage site, check out the extensive photographic display of the ruins at the time of discovery and postrestoration. Then, begin at the Tschudi complex, the Plaza Principal, a monstrous square where ceremonies and festivals were held. The throne of the king is thought to have been in front where the ramp is found. The reconstructed walls have depictions of sea otters at their base. From here, head deep into the ruins toward the royal palace and tomb of Señor Chimú. The main corridor is marked by fishnet representations, marking the importance of the sea to these ancient people. You will also find renderings of pelicans, which served as ancient road signs, their beaks pointing to important sections of the city. Just before you arrive at the Recinto Funerario, the funeral chamber of Señor Chimú, you pass a small natural reservoir called a huachaque. Forty-four secondary chambers surround the funeral chamber where the king, Señor Chimú, was buried. In his day it was understood that when you pass to the netherworld you can bring all your worldly necessities with you, and the king was buried with several live concubines and officials and a slew of personal effects, most of which have been looted. Although wind and rain have damaged the city, its size—20 square km (8 square miles)—still impresses.

Stark and strange beneath the ash-gray hill that towers over them, these astonishing Moche pyramids were the scenes of bloody human sacrifices. Their exteriors may have eroded, but inside archaeologists have uncovered sinister octopus-shaped reliefs of the great Moche god Ai-Apaec, as well as evidence of a cataclysmic El Niño sequence that effectively destroyed Moche civilization.

The Huacas of the Sun and Moon are located some 10 km (6 miles) outside Trujillo, near the Río Moche. The former is the bigger of the two, but it's not open to the public due to its decayed state. (Built up of 130 million adobe bricks in eight continually expanding stages, its treasures were literally cleaned out of it in 1610, when the Spanish diverted the Río Moche to wash the imperial gold and silver from its innards.) The Huaca of the Moon is awesome in its own right, with numerous exterior and interior walls blazoned with bizarre mythological reliefs. These include spider-like creatures, warriors, and the scowling face of Ai-Apaec, the ferocious god to whom captives were sacrificed at the pyramid's base. These sacrifices probably occurred to propitiate the gods of the weather, but alas, it didn't work. A series of violent El Niño events around the year 600 brought drought and sandstorms, eventually ending the Moche civilization.

When you visit the Huaca de la Luna, you'll start from the top, near the sacrificial altars, and work your way down through the inner galleries to the murals at the base. This was where archaeologists discovered bones of the Moches' victims in recent decades. Be sure to allot time for the excellent museum, which includes exhibits of Moche artwork and informative discussions of the culture's history and religion.

This branch of Banco Continental is unlike any bank you've ever been in. Go through the central courtyard and up to the small art gallery on the right. Enjoy the current exhibition—anything from modern to traditional works of art—and see a scale model of Trujillo when it was a walled city. Continue to the back, taking in the chandeliers, the large gold mirrors, and the small fountain, and imagine how, in this house, Peruvian republicans plotted the country's independence from Spain, which was declared on December 29, 1820. The house later became the country's first capitol building and meeting place for its first legislature. Fun fact: much of the furniture is original.

The open courtyard, from 1709, is surrounded by beautiful cedar columns, greenery . . . and bankers: as with many colonial mansions in Peru, this one is now owned by a bank. Scotiabank, however, welcomes tourists and clients into the house to see its wonderfully restored beauty. Notice the classic brown stucco-covered adobe walls and Moorish-style carved-wood ceiling. The security guards are happy to answer questions about the house. The entrance is on the corner of Bolognesi and Pizarro.

The enormous, elaborately carved wooden door is a stunning entrance to this beautifully restored neoclassical mansion from the early 19th century. The house is owned by Peru's Central Bank; simply inform the guard that you'd like to go inside and look around. Don't miss the lovely rococo furniture and the fine collection of pre-Columbian ceramics.

Begin your archaeological exploration at this small but thorough museum, which has displays of ceramics and textiles from the Chimú Empire. The entrance fee to the museum includes Chan Chan, Huaca Arco Iris, and Huaca Esmeralda, so hold on to your ticket (you may also go directly to the ruins and purchase the same ticket there, for the same price). From Trujillo, take a taxi or join a tour from an agency. Each location is a significant distance from the next. Guides are available at the entrance of each site for S/10 or more (S/25 for Chan Chan) and are strongly recommended, both for the information they can provide and also for safety reasons (a few robberies have occurred in the more remote sectors of the archaeological sites). At the museum, and all sites, there are clean restrooms and a cluster of souvenir stalls and snack shops, but no place to buy a full meal.

Filled with intriguing symbolic carvings, the restored Huaca Arco Iris, or Rainbow Pyramid, stands out against its urban backdrop. Named for its unusual rainbow ornamentation (the area rarely sees rain), it's also known as the Huaca El Dragón, or Pyramid of the Dragon, because of the central role dragons play in the friezes. This structure, built by the early Chimú, also has a repeating figure of a mythical creature that looks like a giant serpent. On the walls, mostly reconstructions, you will see what many archaeologists believe are priests wielding the knives used in human sacrifices. Half-moon shapes at the bottom of most of the friezes indicate that the Chimú probably worshipped the moon at this temple. You can climb the ramps up to the top of the platform and see the storage bins within.

As with the other Chimú pyramids, the most interesting aspects of these ruins are the carved friezes, unrestored and in their original state. The images include fish, seabirds, waves, and fishing nets, all central to the life of the Chimú. Like other Chimú pyramids on the northern coast, the ancient temple mound of Huaca Esmeralda, or the Emerald Pyramid, is believed to have served as a religious ceremonial center. The pyramid is in an area that's dangerous for unaccompanied tourists, so go with a guide.

Still used as a nunnery, this handsome edifice, built in 1725, is regarded as the city's finest example of colonial art. It has five elaborate altars and some fine floral frescos. Next door is a museum, the Pinacoteca Carmelita, with religious works from the 17th and 18th centuries and an interesting exhibition on restoration techniques. Be warned: visiting hours are sporadic.

A major collection of archaeological gems in the basement of a shuttered gas station? Well, yes, and it's very much worth a visit—if you can catch it when it's open. The original owner, Jose Luis Cassinelli, amassed a 2,800-piece collection that is internationally renowned among specialists, but since his death the museum's opening hours have been notoriously spotty. If you do get lucky and find it open, you'll see some spectacular portrait vases from the Moche civilization and whistling pots, which produce distinct notes that mimic the calls of various birds. The museum is located on the right-rear side of the now-closed REPSOL station in the traffic circle next to the highway.

Originally built in the 17th century, this museum displays pottery and other artifacts recovered from the archaeological sites surrounding Trujillo. There are excellent reproductions of the colorful murals found at the Huaca de la Luna, the pyramids southeast of the city, as well as a lovely courtyard.

Puppets, puzzles, toys, games—what could be more fun than a toy museum? This private museum houses a large collection of toys from all over the world and shows the transformation of toys through the centuries. The toys from pre-Colombian Peru are especially interesting, giving a seldom-seen view into the daily lives of ancient people. You can't play with the toys, so it may not be appropriate for very young children.

One look at the elaborate courtyard, with its two levels of white columns, enormous tiles, and three-tiered chandeliers, and you'll know why this is called a palace rather than a house. From the intricate white-painted metalwork to the gorgeous Italian marble furnishings, every detail of what was once considered the most exquisite house in South America has been carefully restored and maintained. Remodeled from an earlier mansion in 1842, it's now the home of the private Club Central de Trujillo. Unfortunately, the club only allows visitors limited access, and permission to enter seems to depend principally on the guard's mood for the day. If you do go, prepare to be impressed.

Brightly colored, well-maintained buildings and green grass with walkways and benches make this one of the most charming central plazas in Peru. Fronted by the 17th-century cathedral and surrounded by the colonial-era mansions that are Trujillo's architectural glory, this is not, despite claims by locals, Peru's largest main plaza, but it is one of the nicest.