The countryside near Trujillo, in the province of La Libertad was the land where the ancient Mochica culture chose to build up its most important ceremonial centers: The Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna. Located only 8 km away from the city of Trujillo, these impressive monuments are more that 1,500 years old.

The Huaca or Temple of the Sun functioned as an administrative and political centre. It is a staggered pyramid of approximately 43 meters high that was built by 250,000 men in only three days according to tradition. Around 70 million adobe bricks were used for its construction.

The Huaca de la Luna or Temple of the Moon is located 500 meters away from the Huaca del Sol. This construction was built for ceremonial purposes and it is formed by six superimposed temples built during different periods of the Mochica culture. Its polychrome big walls, on which they represented the Mochica divinity known as Ai-Apaec (Slaughterer God) are remarkable since they are very well preserved. It is thought that multiple human sacrifices were held to honor this god, rituals that have been captured in other elements of the Mochica iconography.

Other characters have been also represented on its façade: serpents, fishermen, huge spiders holding ceremonial knives, priests, etc. These would have been designed to pay tribute to the water and the fertility of the land.