Trujillo Things to Do

a year before i travel to trujillo for 4 days and 3 nigths and i met alot of beautifull places to visit there
such as chan chan, sun and moon temples ,huanchaco and i travel there contacting a very good agency in peru MUW
i booked this tour
http://www.machupicchutrek.com/index.php?accion=trujillo_traditional
go to trujillo u will have good times there

now im living in cusco
peru is wonderfull

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As I mentioned in my Hotel tip, most taxi drivers are connected to/have connection with tour agencies and arrange day trips to these sites.
So did we. We payed € 20 for the car and driver and he took us from 9 am to 2 pm to the sites. Entry fees are excluded, each site is € 3 per person.
There is a lot of info about Chan Chan (enormous!), the Huacas and Huanchaco here on VT and on the internet.
Info January 2009

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In the center of the plaza is a large sculpture "The Freedom Monument", by the German Edmundo Möeller. It was not originally intended to be in Peru.

After WWI Moeller planned a memorial of freedom with three elements: action, depression and liberation. He sculpted the large travertine marble figures (photo 3 has two of them), but couldn't find anyone who was interested in installing them in a public place. Then in 1923, a magazine ran a competition for the Peruvian city of Trujillo to pick an artist to do a national monument to Peru's 1821 independence. Moeller's sculpture won the award.

The monument, is 30 meters wide and 25 meters high, which exceeds the size of the original design. There are three bronze reliefs of the battles of Junín and Ayacucho and the declaration of independence of Trujillo (photo 4 has one of them). The obelisk in the middle of the monument is crowned by the figure of a young man with a torch (closeup in photo 5), which stands on the globe. The bases of the stands supporting allegories of Art, Science, Agriculture (photo 2), Husbandry.

Moeller worked on the sculptures near a marble quarry in the Free State of Thuringia. The figures were cut with a thin steel wire, and transported to the port of Bremerhaven in 110 railcars.

The monument was inaugurated on December 9, 1927. Moeller received for his work: the Order of the Sun, the honorary chair of the National University of Trujillo and the honorary citizenship Trujillo. In addition to the prize money, Moeller had several commissions in Peru, including busts of the president in August B. Leguía and then mayor of Lima Andrea Dasso, During his stay in Peru he also created a multitude of indigenous figures of bronze and wood. After two years of stay in Peru, during which he also visited other parts of the country and Lima, Moeller returned to Europe in 1928 via the United States.

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Huaca La Luna was the religious center of the Moche culture built over 600 years (100 BC - 650 AD) - there were several levels. Sites say that there were three to five levels and four plazas, but I quickly lost track and had to concentrate on climbing the many many steps. Apparently the site occupants would build a temple, and then fill it in and build another one on top of it. It was in front of the Cerro Blanco next to a tributary of the main local river which is now named after the Moche people who inhabited the region. The Huaca de la Luna, or Temple of the Moon was an artificial platform located so as not to usurp agricultural land and in a good position to acquire food, building material and other resources.

Overall, the site measures 950 feet from north to south and 690 feet from east to west. The access to the structure was probably located on the north side, which has been badly damaged by looting. Treasure hunters also dug impressive tunnels into its eastern flank and inadvertently exposed beautiful polychrome reliefs, sadly now destroyed. Many Moche burials, some probably dedicatory but others as late as Chimú (about 1100-1470 AD), have been excavated inside the otherwise massive adobe platform and have yielded many artifacts, such as elaborate ceramics and metal headgear.

The guide gave us a vivid and enthusiastic but somewhat disjointed account of human sacrifices. The website says

Large-scale human sacrifice at Huaca de la Luna became evident when archaeologists uncovered the remains of at least 34 sacrificed adult male individuals in the soft clay of the southeastern court at the foot of the mountain. They had been bound and, judging by the type of wounds that had been inflicted, were probably captured in battle. The sacrifice represents a single ritual event linked by archaeologist Steve Bourget to a season of torrential rains caused by an extreme case of the maritime El Niño phenomenon, which strikes the coast of South America at irregular intervals and which may have caused the final abandonment of this site.

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After the guide explained the statue in the central square, we went into the Cathedral. I went up to the front in advance thinking there might be some graves there, but there were not. One of the tour members told me to take off my hat. I said ladies did not take off their hats in church. There was a man playing the organ and singing who had a beautiful voice. My picture of him is blurred and another member of the tour said I should not take pictures during mass. The guide only said we should be quiet during mass. No one said anything to Bob at all and he was taking pictures too (although not wearing his hat)

The Cathedral was built between 1647 and 1666, and rebuilt between 1768 to 1781 according to the Venezuelan architect Andres K. Noorgard's plans. The architecture is romantic baroque. In 1662, it was built with cedars from surrounding valleys, and it was here where the Catholic Church first officially supported the Independence Movement. The Cathedral was made a National Historic Monument on August 2nd 1960.

Inside is an image of La Virgen de La Paz, presumably brought by the first Spanish immigrants. This beautiful temple main altar was carved by the Colombian sculptor Gustavo Ignacio Cortes,

There is also a Museum of Religious Art with exhibition of paintings and sculptures but we didn't visit that.Visits: Monday to Sunday 7:00-12:00 and 16:00- 21:00.

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We went to a museum called Casa Urquiaga which is now the headquarters of the Banco Central. We saw school children lined up to go in while we were touring the square. It is FREE

This was an historic colonial mansion which was also known as Casa Calonge. The Casa Urquiaga housed Peru's first viceroy in the early 1600s, and it was once the residence of Simón Bolívar. He lived here between 1824 and 1826. I understand that the home still contains the desk Bolívar used but either our guide did not point that out to us, or I missed it. Inside is the furniture that belonged to the Vice-royal during the Republican epochs. On October 12th, 1972 the Urquiaga family sold the house to the Central Reserve Bank of Peru and donated all the furniture, paintings and memorabilia it then held. .

The exterior is blue with white trim, and typical white window grilles. The interior contains three courtyards and is adorned with elaborate chandeliers and mirrors, and a collection of Moche and Nasca ceramics. There are also glass, and pottery exhibits, plus there was contemporary art when we were there.

Hours
Monday to Friday 0900 to 1500
Saturday and Sunday 1000 to 1330

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I wanted to visit a Paso farm because our daughter is a Paso Fino horse trainer and judge. Peruvian paso horses are bred around Trujillo The Peruvian Pasos are also gaited horses, but they are a little bigger than the Paso Finos and their front feet paddle more than the Paso Fino horses do. In September, they hold a Peruvian Paso Horse Contest in Trujillo. This contest is organized in Trujillo by the National Association of Peruvian Paso Horse Breeders and Owners. According to them,

The Spanish horse, crossed with the Arab horse and raised in the coastal desert of Peru, which shaped its pace and style, gave rise to the Peruvian Paso Horse. For 300 years, the blood of this new breed has been enhanced, until it developed the characteristics which have made it the most beautiful of its kind in the world.

Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Moon and Sun) are 2 pyarmides from the Moche empire (pre Inca) and is still in the process of being excavated...not sure it ever will be completed due lack of resources and funding.

S./10 to get in and includes a guide in a few langauges...takes 60-90minutes..about 8kms/20 minutes from Trujillo.