| The North |

The North is the ideal destination for lovers of archeology and history, who want to think outside the box and find pre-Inca cultures.

Chiclayo

It is a grand coastal city (589 000 inhabitants), north of Trujillo, knows as "the city of friendship" for the kindness of the people there.

 

El Senor de Sipan

10 2002, in the city of Lambayeque, they opened the museum "The Royal Tombs of Sipan" considered amongst the most important of the Americas, to house the fabulous treasure discovered in 1987, 3 tombs of a gouverning Mochica (200AD). It is full of onjects of gold, silver and semi-precious stones. This discovery has been compared to the discovery of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamon.

 

Tucume, the Valley of the Pyramids

At 33 km (20 miles) from Chiclayo you find 26 pyramids of adobe or "huacas" (temples) nearly 40 m (130 ft) high, mada around 700 AD, indicating what the culture of Lambayeque was like.

 

Cajamarca

The city most important of the northern mountains with a population of 212 000, it was a grand inca administrative centre. Here you can visit "el cuarto del rescate" (the room of recovery) which the last Inca atahualpa had to fill with gold and silver to save his life, but who was eventually executed by the spanish. Cajamarca is the capital of Peruvian carnivals with colorful parties in February and March. Here you can make use of the healing waters of the Ica Baths, where Atahualpa was captured.

 

Ventanillas de Otuzco

2 850 m.a.s.l. (9 348 ft) at 15 minutes from Cajamarca can be found real excavations in the live rock. There are niches arranged in perfectly ordered rows that were used by Cajamarca (500BC - 1 400AD) as a cemetery. Another identical site also exists 20 km (12 miles) from Cajamarca, the Cemetery of Combayo at 3 000 m.a.s.l ( 9840 ft).

Cumbemayo

3 500 m (11 480 ft) above sea level at 20 km (12 miles) south off Cajamarca this archeological complex, has two main attractions: the 9 km (6 miles) aqueduct carefully carved in the volcanic rock which shows the high level of hydraulic technology of the ancient Peruvians and impressionable geologic formations that appear like silhouettes of monks in procession.

 

Kuelap

3 000 m (9 840 ft) altitude - 72 km (45 miles) - 2 hrs - from the city of Chachapoyas (population of 49 700) is one of the most important archeological monuments of the Americas. Constructed in the 9th century by the Chachapoyas in the high altitude jungle, this fortified city covers 6 hectares and contains 420 circular constructions as well as tremendous city walls up to 25m (82 ft) high. These walls have 3 accesses in the form of funnels where only one person can enter at time.

 

Beaches of the North

The extrem north of Peru has numerous beaches of white sand and blue water ideal to practice surfing, water skiing and underwater shooting. Between the beaches most visited are "Punta Sal", known for its tranquil and warm waters, Zorritos which has water with an average temperature of 26 C (79F) and Mancora with 20 km (12 miles) of beaches. Cabo Blanco is a paradise for sport fishing where black marlin abound.