Starting the year off with visits to some of the oldest sites in Peru

We arrived to Trujillo in the afternoon of New Year's Eve giving us time to organize what we would do that evening and book some excursions for the next few days. We'll be going to Lima on the 3rd for a couple of days before we fly to Cusco to prepare for our four day trek to Machu Pichu.

The sites we will visit around Trujillo actually predate the Inca site of Machu Pichu. There are over 300 adobe pyramids in this region of Peru. They have only explored a small number of these pyramids and have discovered the earliest dating to 2500 BC (which is the same time frame as the Khufu pyramids in Egypt). They have also discovered that as some civilizations perished and new ones came into the region, they would build over the existing pyramid. The Cao pyramid in El Brujo has revealed five structures so far. The excavation is difficult as to get to the inner structures it means destroying the more recent ones. Also, once they expose the structure, the effects of the wind and salt from the sea begin damaging the drawings and reliefs.

THE LADY OF CAO

The Cao pyramid and it's tombs were excavated as recently as 2008. Work on this one has stopped waiting for more funding. There are signs of looting in the surrounding area but the government has not dedicated the resources to protecting these long forgotten tombs.

The 'Lady of Cao' is buried in this pyramid. She was 25 years old and is believed to have died during childbirth. So far, she is the only female found buried with the same importance as the Lords; she had guardians, jewellery, pottery and a young girl buried around her. Also the tomb is well decorated with important symbols of the time.

HUACA DEL SOL Y LA LUNA (Temple of the Moon and the Sun)
This pyramid was also rebuilt one on top of the other at least five times. We see lots of colorful decorations on the walls. Much of the artifacts here have already been looted. But still incredible to see what has been built so many thousand years ago. Much of what they know about the culture is surmised from the drawings on the clay pots which depict the daily life and rituals.

CHAN CHAN
Chan Chan is the largest Adobe city in the world. It is difficult to take a photograph that hasn't been taken a thousand times before. However, this site is quite incredible because of its size. And, again, rather sad to discover that the Spaniards were the first to loot the site more than 500 years ago. Much of the site is yet to be excavated and sits under tons of sand. However, the more they excavate the more they need to find a way to protect it from the elements.