Chan Chan, Peru: Travel Guide
Chan Chan ruins in Trujillo is one of the must-visit sites in Northern Peru. Relics of Chimu civilization are worth your time, so make sure this ancient and largest adobe city is on your itinerary. This Chan Chan travel guide includes tips on what to see, how to get without a guided tour, tickets, opening hours, or what to pack.
Have you ever heard about Chan Chan ruins or Chimu civilization? To be honest, before our trip to South America, we haven't.
Maybe we just did not pay attention during history lessons, but we are pretty sure this period that lasted on this continent for six centuries, between 900 - 1470, certainly does not get that much attention.
Well, one of the things we know about Peru is that it's famous for Incas and their masterpiece Machu Picchu citadel, which is certainly a highlight, but we think Chan Chan ruins are also pretty exceptional and should be bathing in the sunlight as well.
Chan Chan ruins are located in northern Peru, which is a region often overlooked by international travelers. But the coast has so much to offer, especially this very area.
First of all, Chan Chan ruins are not the only ruins along the Peruvian west coast.
Secondly, you can base yourself in Trujillo, a busy but picturesque colonial city that offers a great infrastructure for travelers, and last but not least, you can break your journey here, relax on the beach or learn surfing.
There are many reasons to put this place on your Peru itinerary, but if you want to hear some hard facts, there it is.
Chan Chan was back in days the largest adobe city in the Americas, and although the adobe proved not to be the best building material, a few structures in the complex survived the rough weather conditions, and you have the ultimate chance to visit it.
During Chan Chan's heyday, tens of thousands of people lived here, which is nowadays pretty hard to imagine because the lands look very inhospitable, so you might wonder where they got water or crops.
In some aspects, the civilization was very advanced, and it is also one reason we wanted to see the place with our own eyes.
Many years ago, the ruins' significance was confirmed by UNESCO that put this attraction on their World Heritage List.
However, the situation is still not ideal, and archaeologists do not have enough resources to uncover the complex faster. We are pretty sure new artifacts and information about the Chimu civilization will come to light soon, though, as the work will progress.
We visited Chan Chan ruins independently from Trujillo, and this travel guide includes tips on what to expect, what to see, whether it pays off to hire a guide, tips on how to get there, where to stay, or how much the ticket costs.
VISITING CHAN CHAN INDEPENDENTLY
Once the bus drops you off at the intersection, the only thing you must do is to follow a dirt road for about one kilometer that will take you to the entrance to Chan Chan.
These two words mean sun-sun, and you will very likely understand where the name comes from because the landscape resembles a desert.
The road is lined with ancient Chimu palaces, but most of them are either destroyed or closed because of research.
This is why the only site travelers can visit is Nik An's complex nowadays, but this walk can still help you understand how powerful the Chimu civilization was.
Chan Chan is located on the coast, and both Chimu and Moche cultures used mud bricks as a building material because it rarely rained.
The change of climate enhanced by the El Niño phenomenon brought more rain - something builders in the area did not and could not foresee. This is why many palaces nowadays look like a pile of mud, and those that were saved are under the roof to protect them from more severe damage.
Before you enter the complex, it is necessary to set your expectations right.
One thing that struck us the most was how Chan Chan (the accessible part) looks renovated. Actually, it was sometimes even more renovated than we would appreciate it.
We understood the effort to show the visitors how amazing these structures were, and it is certainly much better than to see melted mud, but some of the sites simply looked like they were newly built.
Structures were wonderful to look at, but they a bit lacked the atmosphere.
After we paid for the ticket and hired a guide, we were let inside.
The complex that is accessible is basically a group of several buildings that served different purposes because Chan Chan was a political, commercial, and administrative center.
Interestingly, the palace you'll see here was not the main one, or it was, but only for a certain period.
When the ruler of Chan Chan passed away, the new king automatically did not move to the old palace, but he built a new one. Also, the old king's family could not live, so all his wives were poisoned and buried.
This is why Chan Chan is also a large burial center. Although archaeologists still cannot answer the question of how many people lived in Chan Chan, they estimate it was between 30 000 and 100 000 people, which is really hard to imagine because the site feels very abandoned.
The guide led us through narrow streets lined with adobe walls that served as a protection, and some of them are nicely decorated, so pay attention to detail.
The detailed pictures depict things important for the culture, such as waves or fish, and they can be repeatedly found throughout the complex. Then we continued to the ceremonial plaza.
We saw the administrative part the same as a building that supposedly served to keep food fresh, and there were also freshwater reservoirs.
As it was pretty demanding to get fresh water, the Chimu civilization proved to be advanced in engineering because they built long canals that brought drinking water to the city.
Overall, it took us more than an hour to walk around the complex, and we can only recommend you to put Chan Chan on your Peru bucket list. The site is very visually attractive and photogenic.
ENTRANCE FEE
The ticket for Chan Chan ruins costs S/10 per person, and it also includes two other sites, Huaca Esmeralda and Huaca Arco Iris, located in Trujillo and easily accessible by public transport.
You can buy the ticket either in the museum or by the entrance. As there are almost no information boards within the complex, we strongly suggest hiring a guide, unless you want to read about Chan Chan in a guide book or online.
Although we usually try to travel as frugally as possible, this time we opted for the English speaking guide and could not be happier with the information provided.
We learned a lot about the history of Chimu culture, the purposes of buildings in the complex, and the way of life before Incas started to rule.
The guided tour took about an hour, and we could stay even longer and walk around the site later on our own.
The guide costs S/40, and a group can have a maximum of five people. We met by the entrance another couple we could share the cost with.
Chan Chan is a half-day trip, so plan your time in Trujillo accordingly - there are more ruins you can include in your travel itinerary.
OPENING HOURS
Chan Chan is open daily from 9 AM to 4 PM. Keep in mind that the site is closed on Mondays.
HISTORY & FACTS
As we've already mentioned, Chimu civilization was the one that made Chan Chan great, but it was, of course, not the only culture in the region.
Chachapoya culture built Kuelap (by the way, the ruins are also worth visiting), but the Chachapoya people ruled further inland.
On the other hand, the Moche civilization was Chimu's predecessors that ruled in a similar area, and you can find some of the ruins and excavations near Chiclayo.
It seems that the Moche culture collapsed because of a sudden climate change. Heavy rains caused instability in the agriculture system, and this was when a better adapted Chimu culture's star started to shine.
The official beginning of the civilization dates back to the 9th century; this was when Chan Chan, or at least its foundations, were built, but the kingdom started to flourish in the 12th century.
The civilization stood on a stable socio-economic basis; it expanded while the power was centralized in the capital city, Chan Chan.
Unfortunately, during the 15th century, Chan Chan could not longer withstand raids from the south, and in 1470 was the civilization defeated by Incas.
It did not take long, and Spaniards arrived, so Chan Chan would have probably fallen either way, but Spaniards did not leave the site unnoted.
They based themselves in Trujillo, and as the glory of Chan Chan was well-known, they robbed graves and stole a lot of money on the site that did not resemble one of the largest pre-Columbian cities anymore.
The effort to save such an exceptional adobe city started in 1969, and excavations started simultaneously.
HOW TO GET TO CHAN CHAN
Getting to Chan Chan from Trujillo or Huanchaco independently is very easy as the site lies in between these two cities. From Trujillo, take a van from Ovalo Grau that goes to the village of Huanchaco and ask the driver to be dropped off at the Chan Chan's gate.
The fee is S/1.50, and the ride takes about 15 minutes.
Huanchaco itself is much smaller, and you will find the colectivo on the same spot where the bus or colectivo dropped you off when you arrived in the village.
No matter from which direction you travel, the bus will drop you off at the intersection, from where you have to walk 1.1 kilometers to the gate.
It is possible to take a taxi (there's almost always a driver waiting to try to persuade the travelers that Chan Chan is too far), but we did not find it necessary because the distance was not big and we did not want to pay for an overpriced ride.
Before you visit Chan Chan, it is possible to go to a museum that is about 500 meters from the intersection when you'll follow the main road in the direction of Trujillo.
The museum is closed on Monday, and although you can buy a ticket for the site here, it is possible to pay for the entrance fee once you get to the ruins.
There are new ticket booths, toilets, and souvenir shops.
TOURS
If you do not want to plan the trip by yourself, it is possible to book a Chan Chan Tour.
This tour includes transport, a local guide, and also sightseeing of Trujillo. So it's perfect for travelers who want to see the best of Trujillo but are short on time.
WHERE TO STAY IN TRUJILLO
Trujillo is Peru's third-largest city, but the colonial center does not feel this way and is very pleasant. The good news is there are quite a lot of accommodation options, although those centrally located are not very budget-friendly.
We were able to find a cheaper hotel room a little bit from the historical center, but still within walking distance.
If you travel in the main season, plan on booking the hotel room in advance.
We've handpicked the best three hotels in Trujillo for every type of traveler.
Budget | D'Barrig - This place is a newly-built accommodation on the outskirt of the city center. It is a private accommodation with only four rooms, but the hotel is clean and safe (the owner has to let everyone in an out personally).
Mid-range | Hotel Central - For all who look for the central location and a certain comfort level, this hotel offers a perfect rate/quality ratio.
Luxury | Tierra Viva Trujillo - One of the city's best hotels has a great location, modern rooms air-conditioned rooms, and a delicious buffet breakfast. Most importantly, the price is very reasonable.
Alternatively, it is possible to spend a couple of nights in one of the Huanchaco's a beach hotels and make day trips from there.
You can search for accommodation in Huanchaco here.
BEST TIME TO VISIT CHAN CHAN
You can visit Chan Chan any time of the year, but as temperatures in the area are pretty high, especially in the summer between November and April, it is better to visit the site in the morning.
Afternoons bring wind and, consequently, dust, and there's also nowhere to hide before the sun.
Of course, you can still beat the conditions or at least mitigate them by quality gear, but more about it later.
November to April are also months with the highest precipitation. However, the rainy season is not that wet in the region, and it is improbable to experience bad weather that would ruin your stay.
That's being said, December, January, and February can bring occasional flash floods.
Travel Insurance
We never leave home without travel insurance that was designed to cover our expenses if something goes wrong during the trip.
Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.
World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers to cover their trip essentials, including sports and adventure activities.
SafetyWing is affordable travel insurance for backpackers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads.
Travel smarter and safer!
WHAT TO PACK
Visiting Chan Chan is a pleasant half-day trip, so make sure you do not overpack. You need only a few things unconditionally: a quality daypack, sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses, and bandana.
All of these items will help you fight against dust and sun, while you can store other must-have things in the ultralight packable daypack.
It is important to have water. It is possible to buy a bottle in the souvenirs shops close to the entrance, but it is overpriced plus not environmentally friendly.
We prefer our reusable water bottle, but because tap water in Peru is not drinkable, consider purchasing SteriPen or a water bottle with integrated filter.
As sidewalks in South America are often tricky, we recommend wearing sneakers, although we saw many people wearing flip-flops.
Make sure you have enough cash for transport and entrance ticket - for safety reasons, leave credit cards or spare cash in your hotel room.
We did not find Trujillo's area somewhat dangerous, but it is better to avoid abandoned alleyways, especially after dark.
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
