“Be Your Own Tourguide” articles are designed to help you avoid getting trapped on a lame tour of a fascinating site. We’ll give you a breakdown of what the local tour companies offer, and then tell you how to get to the sites on your own. We all have our own opinions, but everyone’s style is different. Sometimes it can be indispensable to go with a guide, some sites are easily visited on their own. The choice is up to you (keep repeating that to yourself as the pushy tour company reps in the main plaza hassle you).

Prices quoted are in Peruvian Nuevo Soles (S/.) and US Dollars ($).

Trujillo is a city with a long and distinguished history. Peru’s third largest metropolitan area, Trujillo was founded in 1534 when the Spaniards arrived in the area. It was the first Peruvian city to declare independence from Spain in 1820, and became Simón Bolivar’s base of operations when he and his troops entered Peru a few years later.

Today, Trujillo is known as the City of Eternal Springtime, and every October it hosts the International Festival of Spring, complete with a grand parade. In January, the city throws the National Marinera Contest, attracting couples from all over Peru for a week-long celebration of this traditional dance. January 2010 marked 50 years of the contest.

The city’s center is often touted as one of the most colonial in Peru, with a quite lovely Plaza de Armas, and numerous Casonas Antiguas (Old Homes), both restored and crumbling, that exemplify Peru’s Colonial and Republican architecture.



But step outside the city and you’ll find traces of a far older civilization. The area was once home to the Moche (100AD-800AD), who transformed the barren coastal desert into a paradise and built the impressive adobe pyramids Huacas del Sol y de la Luna, and then the Chimu (900AD-1470AD), whose sprawling adobe metropolis Chan Chan was once home to 700,000 inhabitants. Both cultures are well-known for their ceramic, metallurgic and textile arts, many fine examples of which have been found in tombs up and down the coast. For an interesting tour of their respective pottery styles, visit the Museo Cassinelli in Trujillo.

Most tourists stay in nearby fishing village Huanchaco, but don’t be scared by Trujillo’s traffic and bustle. It has a number of good hotels, boutique stores, and it’s a surprisingly good place to grab a cup of coffee (try the cafes on the 700 block of Pizarro).

Tour companies offer trips to the highlights, the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna, Chan Chan, as well as City Tours of the Casonas Antiguas. Most travel agencies are on the Plaza de Armas or to the north on Pizarro and Independencia. They’re tucked into corners and between cellular shops, so look carefully for the signs.

Here’s our take:

Huacas del Sol y de la Luna:



Tour Company: The standard price is S/.15 ($5.25) for a 2.5 hour excursion, though some companies will charge an extra S/.5 ($1.75) for an English-speaking guide. This price includes guide and transportation, but not entrance to the site (S/.11 [$3.80]). TOTAL: S/.26 ($9.05)

Note that all companies offer a full-day excursion that combines the Huacas with Chan Chan, for S/.20-30 ($7-10.50) in total. This includes guide and transportation, but you’ll still pay S/.11 ($3.80) each for both sites. TOTAL: S/.42-52 ($14.60-18.10)

Get there on your own: Take a taxi for S/.10 ($3.50), or walk down to Ovalo Grau (about 20 minutes south of the center of town) and catch a combi for S/.0.80 ($0.28) in front of the gas station (keep asking, one of them will take you). The entrance is S/.11 ($3.80), which includes a mandatory guide in either English or Spanish, though the guide expects a tip of about S/.5 ($1.75) per person. TOTAL: Taxi—S/.26 ($9.05), if you’re sharing with someone else. Bus—S/.18 ($6.40).

Chan Chan:



Tour Company: The standard price is S/.15 ($5.25) for a 3.5 hour excursion, includes guide and transportation, but not entrance (S/.11 [$3.80]). Can be combined with a trip to the Huacas (see above).

Get there on your own: Chan Chan is pretty spread out, making it either expensive (taxi) or confusing (bus) to visit on your own. The complex consists of four separate sites: Nik An Palace or Tschudi (the main star), Huaca Arco Iris (also known as Huaca El Dragón—both names come from the relief adobe carvings that adorn the temple), Huaca Esmerelda, and the Site Museum. Guides are optional, and are not included in the ticket price; hiring one costs S/.25 ($8.75) at Nik An, and S/.15 ($5.25) at the other sites. (Note: your entrance ticket covers all four sites, but is only good for two days. It’s unlikely anyone will check the date, though.)

TAXI: Nik An is out in the middle of nowhere. A taxi from Trujillo will run you S/.10 ($3.50), and once you’re there, official taxis wait to ferry you to the other sites with set rates: Museum—S/.5 ($1.75), Esmerelda—S/.7 ($2.35), and Arco Iris—S/.15 ($5.25). Negotiate rates to visit all the sites. An alternative would be to hire a taxi for the complete day (about S/.50 [$17.50], highly negotiable).

BUS: (All bus directions are from the city center outward, and each ride should cost you S/.1 [$0.30], except for the trip from Trujillo to Nik An, which will cost you S/.1.50 [$0.52]. Ask the wrangler to let you know where to get off—they’re usually quite good about helping.)

• Nik An is, as we said, out in the middle of nowhere. To reach it, take the orange Huanchaco bus from Av. España North and ask to be let off at Chan Chan. From the highway there should be shuttles running to Nik An, though they break at odd hours, and we ended up walking a half-hour to get to the complex. The Site Museum is on the same orange Huanchaco bus line, a little closer to town. If you’re short on time, though, you won’t miss much by skipping it. When coming back to town, make sure to catch the “B” Huanchaco bus if you want to go to the city center, as the others veer pretty far to the south.
• To get to Huaca Esmerelda, take the orange Huanchaco bus or the green Nuevo California bus toward the outskirts of the city, near the Tottus super mall. The bus should let you off in front of Iglesia Mansiche; walk to the right of the church and follow the road about four blocks. The Huaca will be off to your right.
• Huaca Arco Iris is in a totally different direction, but is still pretty simple to get to by bus. Catch a red-and-blue Esperanza Express on Av. España North, heading toward the Esperanza neighborhood. You’ll take a lot of twists and turns before heading straight and true on Av. Nicolás de Pierola. After about 10 minutes you should reach the huaca. (Note: If you’re following along on your LIMA 2000 brand Trujillo map, they’ve put Arco Iris in the wrong spot. That’s actually Huaca Takaynamo (closed to the public). Arco Iris is four blocks past it on the left-hand side.)

City Tour:



The rates of tour companies for City Tours, tours of the colonial- and republican-era Casonas Antiguas, vary wildly. Some will charge you S/.15-20 ($5.25-7) per person, and some will put you in contact with a local guide for a lump sum of around S/.40 ($14), or more if they speak English. You may ask at your hotel or the iPeru office on the Plaza de Armas to recommend a guide, as well. Alternately, you can read about the houses and visit them on your own with a map from the iPeru office—most are open and free to the public.

The lowdown? If you’re short on time and want to get the full experience of these fantastic sites, a day tour would be your best, most economical bet. Rates for private tours vary, but if you don’t like being herded around in a massive group, it’s worth spending the extra money. Given the spread-out nature of Chan Chan complex it would be beneficial to sign up with a tour here, or at least hire a taxi. Unless, that is, you have plenty of time and like riding city buses (which we admittedly like very much).

Related KnK Explore posts:

• Chan Chan
• Huacas del Sol y de la Luna
• Trujillo’s Casones Antiguas
• Huaca Arco Iris

Related Posts

1. Nuts and Bolts: Trujillo and Huanchaco | by Robert Kittilson
2. Buenos Aires, Trujillo | by Jessie Kwak
3. Colonial Tourism in Spanish Trujillo. | by Robert Kittilson
4. Trujillo’s Casonas Antiguas (Antique Homes) | by Jessie Kwak
5. Photo: What Crazy Combi? | by Robert Kittilson

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