A Visit to the Moche Ruins in Chiclayo, Peru

Chiclayo is near the ruins of the Moche culture (which ruled the northern coast of Peru prior to the Incas - from 1AD to 700AD). The main village was known as Sipan, and houses an archeological site known as Huaca Rajada. The site consists of two large, eroded pyramids (built by the Moche people using adobe mud bricks). In addition, several tombs have been found in this area of upper echelon Moche people - including the Senor de Sipan (the tribes leader) which was located in 1987. Some archaeologists believe this is the most important discovery in the last 30 years because it was untouched by looters.

I imagined the ruins as quite a tourist attraction. Maybe they had a mall next to the pyramids that sold things like T-shirts with "I partied with El Senor de Sipan" printed on them. They could even have a McDonald's there that sold Moche burgers. How about a 80-foot water slide? The possibilities were endless.

On our third day in Chiclayo, a group of us decided to visit the ruins. We charted a bus we could fit in - which reminded me of the bus that Kathleen Turner rode and broke down in "Romancing the Stone", except that our's was smaller and in worse condition. As the bus ventured onto the highway, we wondered how long the ride would be. A member of the group, who shall remain nameless (but her name rhymes with "baron"), said "Oh, only about 10 minutes".

For the next hour, we passed several dirt farms, sugar cane fields, donkeys pulling carriages, and places along the side of the rode where people just dumped their garbage. Then our bus slowed down to about 2 mph, as we realized we were crossing a river on a one lane bridge. The bridge made one of those in Madison County look like the Golden Gate. This prompted Alex to turn white as rice, which was unusual considering he had developed a tan which rivaled George Hamilton's. He began muttering "This just isn't right! Something's wrong." Little did we realize at the time that he had rented a movie called "Turistas" before the trip. The movie was about a group of American tourists that go backpacking in Brazil, only to have their bus drive off a cliff, and then ending up in a cabin in the jungle where they begin to be murdered for black market body parts. I believe this was a new Disney film.

After crossing the bridge, the bus drove through a very run-down village. The driver pulled over and asked a man where the ruins were. He said, "You're looking at it!" Well, I guess they call them ruins for a reason.

After another half mile of driving we found the entrance to the site. Upon entering, we learned from our tour guide that an archeological team had just located a new tomb and had begun excavation. They allowed us to peer in dig, but we could not take any pictures. We were also able to climb a section of the pyramids, which yielded a beautiful view of the Andes Mountains.

The bus ride back seemed much shorter, and everyone was happy they took the journey to see this beautiful Peruvian landmark. For more pictures of this site, please see the following link:

Chiclayo