Chan Chan Ruins - Trujillo, Peru
by Rebecca Hollman
updated Dec 20, 2018
Chan Chan Ruins - Trujillo, Peru
Chan Chan was the capital city of the ancient empire of Chimor. Chimor was the empire of the Chimú people and stretched 600 miles all the way from Ecuador to central Peru. At it’s peak, about 600 years ago, Chan Chan was the largest city in all of the Americas and was the largest adobe brick city in the entire world. The city housed about 60,000 people - mostly workers who served the emperor and skilled craftsmen and priests, who were considered “elite people.” The city covers 20 kilometers, with the central zone consisting of 10 large “citadels” - almost cities within the city. This citadels served as residences, storage, mausoleum and administrative buildings. Outside of the citadels were smaller compounds for the skilled tradesmen - specifically for woodworking, textile weaving, metalworking, etc. Farther out from these compounds were the smaller residences for the farmers and the crop fields. Besides being the residence of the king, queens and the elite, Chan Chan was also the administrative and commercial center for the entire empire. Chan Chan was beautifully decorated - with metal gates, the walls painted in patterns of red, yellow, black and white, and with the multitude of friezes carved into the walls of the city.
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Chan Chan comes from the Chimú language and literally means “Sun Sun.” This area of Peru gets constant sunlight and less than a tenth of an inch of rain per year. Because of that, the Chimú people had to be extremely resourceful and create massive canals to bring in a constant source of water. The water was stored in tanks inside the city and was used to grow fields of crops inside and around the city. Although rain was a constant issue, the ocean provided for a plentitude of food. Because of currents that specifically hit the coast of Peru, Peru’s water are extremely rich in minerals and therefore fish biodiversity. Many reliefs on the walls of Chan Chan feature different types of fish and seafood, and also sea birds flying overhead.
The Incans conquered Chimor in 1470, breaking up the Chimor Empire and bringing most of Chan Chan’s skilled craftsmen back to the Incan capital of Cusco/Cuzco. The city remained relatively empty until the Spanish conquest, where the Spanish looted and raided the city of all its precious materials. Since it’s looting, Chan Chan has remained abandoned and left to the mercy of the weather. As climate changes causes El Niño weather patterns to occur more frequently, the rain is causing Chan Chan to erode quickly.
Getting There
You can reach Chan Chan from either Trujillo or Huanchaco. You can take a taxi from either city for around S/ 15. Some local buses that go from Trujillo to Huanchaco will stop at Chan Chan but make sure to ask the driver in advance. You can get on this bus for S/ 1.50. You can also take an organized tour from either city, or drive yourself if you have a car.
Entrance
The entrance fee is S/ 11 and also gives you access to the Huaca del Sol y la Luna south of Trujillo. Once inside, you can either pay a few more soles for a booklet that tells you information about the city (only in Spanish), you can get a guide for S/ 30 (in English, Spanish, French and maybe other languages), or you can just go explore on your own. We walked around with the guidebook and looking up information on the internet, but having a knowledgeable guide would make walking around the city much more meaningful.
