Temple of the Moon & Chan Chan - This is a review of our private tailor-made trip to Peru with Kouda Travel 3-16 November 2022. At the end of our trip, we added several additional days for travel to Trujillo, Peru, to visit the Moche and Chimu archaeological sites. To the South of Trujillo are the massive Moche ruins of Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Sun) and Huaca de la Luna (the Temple of the Moon). The Temple of Sun is the largest adobe pyramid in the Americas with 130 mill bricks use in its construction. The Temple of the Sun if not open to the public. We started with a walking tour of The Temple of the Moon. Our guide stated there are seven different levels built one atop another. The Temple was decorated in registers of murals that were painted in black, bright red, sky blue, white, and yellow. You can plan for half a day or so for the Moche Ruins. Following our visit, we had lunch in Trujillo. After Lunch we travelled to the North of Trujillo to visit the ruins of Chan Chan. Chan Chan was the capital city of the Chimu civilization and covered 22 square kilometers. The Moche civilization preceded the Inca, and the Chimu Civilization is contemporary with and conquered by the Inca. The archaeological site is situated around seven very large walled compounds. The smallest compound is open to the public and is massive. Exterior walls were 33 feet tall and extensive. Much of the interior site is covered from the elements and otherwise preserved. Like the Moche site, plan for half a day to visit.

Peruvian Ancient Cultures - If you are interested in archeological digs or the history of ancient cultures of Peru, a visit to Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Sun) and Huaca de la Luna (Temple of the Moon). These are located a short distance from Truijllo, Peru. Our guide said these temples are believed to have been built by the Moche Empire. The society was an agricultural-based society that built irrigation cans to supply water for their crops. Entering the complex, the first thing you see are huge adobe pyramid-shaped mounds in a vast desert-like landscape. Interestingly, we learned if a building was too small for their needs or in disrepair, the Moche simply built another on top of the original. In the Temple of the Moon, we saw murals in whites, reds, and blues of what looked to be religious figures and mythical beings which means it was once a place of worship. There was a guard watching the area, and there were signs providing background information. I used a cane, so I chose not to walk up to the much larger Temple of the Sun. I was told it has many terraces and tons of adobe bricks. Our guide shared one of the rituals of the Moche. Huan sacrifice was one of the rituals. Two teams of warriors/men would compete, and the losing team were then sacrificed at the temple. The winning team would tie the losers with ropes and bring them to the temple. Their blood was offered to a god. On our way out, we stopped at a small on-site museum, Huacas de Moche, and saw displays of artistic pottery, ceramics, artifacts, and utensils. Please note a visit here requires a lot of walking on sandy paths and up and down the hilly areas. Be aware, this site requires a lot of walking on sandy clay paths, with up and down hilly areas. .