Trujillo walking tour & city guide

The city

The Plaza de Armas is framed by yellow and blue colonial mansions with iron window grilles. Trujillo is also the home of the marinera dance.

Ancient sites

Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimú kingdom, is a UNESCO site of carved adobe walls. The Huacas del Sol y de la Luna have colorful murals. In Huanchaco, fishermen still ride reed boats called caballitos de totora.

A day in Trujillo

Trujillo's colonial center has colorful mansions with ornate window grilles around the Plaza de Armas. Visit Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the Americas, and the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna, temples of the Moche culture with colorful painted walls.

In the afternoon, head to Huanchaco beach, where fishermen still ride the waves on caballitos de totora, reed boats used for thousands of years.

Good to know

Trujillo is known as the 'City of Eternal Spring' and is the home of the marinera, Peru's national dance, celebrated in a festival in January.

Huanchaco is a relaxed surf town and a good place to stay.

Why it is worth a stop

The north coast of Peru was home to great civilizations long before the Incas. The Moche built pyramids decorated with painted friezes, and the Chimú built Chan Chan, a city of adobe walls carved with fish, birds and waves. The El Brujo site, with the tomb of the Lady of Cao, a powerful Moche woman ruler, is another highlight. Trujillo also has a pleasant colonial center with mansions and churches, much quieter than Lima or Cusco.