COMPLEJO ARQUEOLÓGICO CHAN

Buried under the sand, it is one of the most impressive pre-Incan cities of Peru. In the Muchik language, spoken on the coast before the arrival of the Incas, Chan Chan means "where there was sun". It was the capital of the Chimú Empire which shone from the 9th to the 15th century, after having supplanted the Mochica kingdom (4th to 9th century). It was inscribed by Unesco on the List of Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1986. The world's largest earthen city covered an area of 14 km² and included no less than 28 palaces where some 150,000 people would have lived. It is believed that the Chimu civilization was military with a lord and master of each valley.

Of this grandiose city, only theadobe

The Palacio Nik An (the palace of the center in Muchik language) - ex-Palacio Tschudi - is a monumental complex that is breathtaking : you walk between the brick walls, some of which are 13 m high, and you open onto immense spaces, the patios. The walls are filled with bas-reliefs representing fish, birds, fantastic animals and squirrels in a repetitive and bewitching way. The spaces are each time divided into 3 levels: the smooth sky, the sea represented by lines and waves and the earth and its animals. A central space, now populated by reeds, was one of the largest purifying baths. Nearly 140 water wells have been found all around Chan Chan, 90% of which are inside the palaces: he who possessed the water possessed the power. It is here in this immense palace that the Festival of the Dead and its sacred mummies were celebrated, for which the inhabitants brought tributes from all over the valley, so we think that a large part of it was also a granary or depository for all the offerings.

Note that Chan Chan includes four sites rather spaced: the main complex called Palacio Nik An, the site museum (rather basic), Huaca Esmeralda and Huaca Arco Iris. It is also worthwhile to negotiate a taxi to go from one site to the other.