Chan Chan
4.5
About
This archaeological zone, an excellent example of pre-Colombian America, once served as the capital of the Chimu Kingdom, which reached the height of its power in the 15th century before falling under the Incas.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Plan your visit
The area
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
177 within 3 miles
Attractions
57 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
1,536 reviews
Excellent
899
Very good
492
Average
118
Poor
21
Terrible
6
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
stephany z
139 contributions
Sept 2024 • Family
One stop you should not miss if you are in Trujillo . It is the largest mud archaeological center in the world. I liked it although it would be important that the part of the museum renovate it and make it more attractive to tourism as it is a wonderful legacy that many people can know. I really liked chan chan but it is true that you should have more access since currently the route that the Guide showed us was short, I don't know if it was because we were approaching at 17pm..
Automatically translated
Written 6 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quinten Jiskoot
Amsterdam, The Netherlands795 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
It is a surprising, well-preserved complex where one can walk for at least about 2 hours. Only a small part of Chan Chan is accessible to visitors, but it is still very much worth it. There is a small museum on site too. There are many details that deserve your attention.
Automatically translated
Written 19 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hbhakh
Roanoke, VA2,335 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
We took an exursion to visit the Chan Chan ruins from a cruise ship. The history is very interesting and we had a good guide, which is important to understanding what can be seen. Only a fraction of the ruins are available to visit and there has been quite a bit of detioration. Regardless, it's amazing what still remains and can be seen with the guide's assistance.
We went in the morning so the weather was temperate but warm.....it was getting hot as we finished our visit.
We went in the morning so the weather was temperate but warm.....it was getting hot as we finished our visit.
Written 20 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dr. Savage
48 contributions
Apr 2021 • Friends
Great place we used mundo clutral travel and they took car of everything for us. We saw this the museum both were really cool. So much great history in Trujillo Peru we loved every minute.
Written 25 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mariano S
1 contribution
Jul 2024 • Couples
Beautiful walk through this archaeological site belonging to the Chimu culture. The place is wonderful and is preserved in an amazing way.
The only thing that I didn’t like is that before you could visit two huacas that are now closed to the public, and that in the palace that you do visit recently put some modern metal ceilings, which very shave the landscape. I understand they may be needed to contain wind-generated erosion, but I still don't like them.
The only thing that I didn’t like is that before you could visit two huacas that are now closed to the public, and that in the palace that you do visit recently put some modern metal ceilings, which very shave the landscape. I understand they may be needed to contain wind-generated erosion, but I still don't like them.
Automatically translated
Written 29 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rafael H
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico35 contributions
Aug 2016 • Friends
I really liked Chan chan but I loved the huacas del sol y la luna way better. Chan chan is a lot more disorganized. You have to pay extra for a guide. It can be confusing getting here as you feel like you are getting dropped off in the middle of the highway. Once you get off, there is usually a few taxi driver waiting at the entrance of Chan Chan who in my opinion can be a pain. I recommend bringing your own taxi whom you can trust. Once you get dropped off at the entrance (by the way), you have to walk like a quarter mile on a dirt road in the middle of the desert before getting to the actually entrance and reception. Its a cool place but its a little confusing and can be frustrating if you don't know some of the details mentioned. I highly recommend it and it's worth paying an official guide as there is a ton of info. Most of them also speak English. FYI: The guides are inside, ask for one once you pay.
Written 4 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Simon P
Marina di Ragusa, Italy43 contributions
May 2016 • Family
Chan Chan can get some scathing reviews, from people saying that it is boring or that the restoration hasn't been done the right way, but what you need to remember is that Trujillo is not a massively touristy area of Peru. Sure there are a few surfers nearby, but because it doesn't have the sheer weight of tourists that visit the south, the funding and infrastructure are also lower. So please don't expect to be amazed by how it is set up, concentrate on the actual site that you have gone to see. If you do that, you won't be disappointed.
First of all, getting there. The H, H-heart, B and A buses all ply the road between Trujillo and Huanchaco so you can catch any of them to get to Chan Chan from either Huanchaco or where Av. Mansiche meets Ámerica Norte in Trujillo. It will cost you S/. 1.70 (Aug 2016) but if there are two of you and you give the conductor S/. 3 then that will be fine. Bear in mind that there is a fairly long walk (about a kilometre) from the bus top to the entrance to Chan Chan. Taxis vary wildly and at times it can be cheaper to get from Trujillo to Huanchaco than to Chan Chan. This is because a driver knows they'll be able to get a fare back from Huanchaco but not necessarily from Chan Chan. If you can get a price of around S/. 12 then you are doing well. With taxis, bear in mind that unless you arrange for them to stay or come back, then you will need to walk back (the same 1km) to the main road to get another one when you have finished. Final transport option is some tour companies that operate from Huanchaco and Trujillo (Plaza de Armas) that will take you in a minibus at a specified time and pick you up afterwards. I never did this myself, but I remember a friend paid around S/. 40 to go to both Chan Chan and Huaca de La Luna, which seems reasonable to me.
Onto the place itself. I would highly recommend getting a guide to take you around the site as there are no information boards so without a guide you won't know what you are looking at. Our guide spoke good English (see my Huaca de La Luna review for what can go wrong) but I can't remember how much we paid him. The main draw for me was the planning that went into the city, and beauty of the artwork (don't expect colours though). It is fair to say that some of the restoration is a bit "too good" but I refer to my first paragraph that funding plays a part in these things.
We went with my four year-old niece, who clearly couldn't appreciate the wonder, but did have fun spotting the various fish that act as arrows to direct you around the site, and she didn't get bored during the trip, so don't let that put you off.
Expect this to take a morning or afternoon including travel to and from Trujillo/Huanchaco so don't try and cram too much into one day so that you can enjoy yourself, take time to really look at the beauty and relax.
First of all, getting there. The H, H-heart, B and A buses all ply the road between Trujillo and Huanchaco so you can catch any of them to get to Chan Chan from either Huanchaco or where Av. Mansiche meets Ámerica Norte in Trujillo. It will cost you S/. 1.70 (Aug 2016) but if there are two of you and you give the conductor S/. 3 then that will be fine. Bear in mind that there is a fairly long walk (about a kilometre) from the bus top to the entrance to Chan Chan. Taxis vary wildly and at times it can be cheaper to get from Trujillo to Huanchaco than to Chan Chan. This is because a driver knows they'll be able to get a fare back from Huanchaco but not necessarily from Chan Chan. If you can get a price of around S/. 12 then you are doing well. With taxis, bear in mind that unless you arrange for them to stay or come back, then you will need to walk back (the same 1km) to the main road to get another one when you have finished. Final transport option is some tour companies that operate from Huanchaco and Trujillo (Plaza de Armas) that will take you in a minibus at a specified time and pick you up afterwards. I never did this myself, but I remember a friend paid around S/. 40 to go to both Chan Chan and Huaca de La Luna, which seems reasonable to me.
Onto the place itself. I would highly recommend getting a guide to take you around the site as there are no information boards so without a guide you won't know what you are looking at. Our guide spoke good English (see my Huaca de La Luna review for what can go wrong) but I can't remember how much we paid him. The main draw for me was the planning that went into the city, and beauty of the artwork (don't expect colours though). It is fair to say that some of the restoration is a bit "too good" but I refer to my first paragraph that funding plays a part in these things.
We went with my four year-old niece, who clearly couldn't appreciate the wonder, but did have fun spotting the various fish that act as arrows to direct you around the site, and she didn't get bored during the trip, so don't let that put you off.
Expect this to take a morning or afternoon including travel to and from Trujillo/Huanchaco so don't try and cram too much into one day so that you can enjoy yourself, take time to really look at the beauty and relax.
Written 19 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon T
14 contributions
Jan 2015
I was prepared to go guideless to chan chan and wander my way through trying to figure it out for myself, as I thought the English tour guides were a bit pricey at $45 soles. But we ended up getting one and I am SO GLAD we did! He was amazing! So informative, answered every question we had, no matter how obscure. It made wandering the site much more fascinating knowing what every thing was and why. The tour guide we had, Gustavo Prada, has been working as a tour guide at chan chan for over 40 years. It is a beautiful and interesting site, and SO WORTH the English tourguide if you need one :)
Written 16 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RPDM21
Washington D.C., District of Columbia32 contributions
Dec 2014 • Family
The Ciudadela de Chan Chan is a must-visit archeological site for any visitor in Trujillo. I strongly recommend to visit, also, the Huaca de la Luna and Museo de Cao.
Written 11 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
magatlanta_12
Atlanta, Georgia8 contributions
Feb 2014 • Friends
We were thrilled with our (4 person) private tour of Trujillo and surrounding sights with Peruroutes.com Mr. Ever Paredes Betancourt, co-owner, was our tour guide and he was excellent. He spoke very good english and had over 20 years experience. He knew the history of the temples and the best way to see them as well as a great city tour.
We were 2 couples from Oceania Regatta. He provided a private van with AC and a separate driver. We were gone for 5-6 hours, right on schedule & saw everything we wanted and more. No planned stops at the "souvenirs shops". He did what we wanted and what we came to see. You need a tour guide to see Chan Chan and Valley of the Sun and Moon (Huacus). Both highly recommended. and well done...We accomplished more in 6 hours than any of the ships tours by far and at less than half the price.
My wife had contacted them online before we left after reading reviews like this and made a reservation. If you are going to that area and want to really see it take a look at this web site www.peruroutes.com. or email Ever at peruroutes@hotmail.com.
He exceeded our expectations in every way.
DG-Charleston SC
We were 2 couples from Oceania Regatta. He provided a private van with AC and a separate driver. We were gone for 5-6 hours, right on schedule & saw everything we wanted and more. No planned stops at the "souvenirs shops". He did what we wanted and what we came to see. You need a tour guide to see Chan Chan and Valley of the Sun and Moon (Huacus). Both highly recommended. and well done...We accomplished more in 6 hours than any of the ships tours by far and at less than half the price.
My wife had contacted them online before we left after reading reviews like this and made a reservation. If you are going to that area and want to really see it take a look at this web site www.peruroutes.com. or email Ever at peruroutes@hotmail.com.
He exceeded our expectations in every way.
DG-Charleston SC
Written 2 February 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hola buen día, quería saber valor de entrada de adultos y niños a chancha por favor y niños de que edad pagan gracias
Written 13 July 2019
La entrada es de 10 Soles para adultos y creo que estaba 4 siles para los niños.
Written 14 July 2019
Como puedo reservar los museos huaca arco iris y la zona arqueológica el Chan Chan.
Written 13 May 2019
Mejor comprarlo en el sitio y contar con tiempo pues los lugares están un poco separados unos de otros y si no llueve, hace un sol de justicia.
Hay bastantes "taxistas" que se ofrecen a llevarte de un lugar a otro. Regatea sin piedad. Las distancias no son excesivamente largas, sólo incómodas.
Written 14 May 2019
Està posible alquilar una bicicleta para visitar la ciutadela de chan chan?
Written 5 December 2018
la rutina de toda la visita a la ciudadela es a pie.
para llegar a la ciudadela puedes hacerlo en taxi, micro, etc; pero una vez dentro de la ciudadela es a pie.
te recomiendo, en verdad que ni cuenta te vas a dar del tiempo transcurrido.
Written 26 December 2018
jugoy
Montreal, Canada
Bonjour jcruchet,
Aviez-vous un guide francophone pour visiter Chan Chan?
Merci
Written 11 January 2018
Bonjour,
Je suis à la recherche d'un moyen simple pour visiter les sites archéologiques autour de Trujillo et si possible avec un guide francophone. Je ne suis pas contre un tour organisé à condition qu'il vaille le coup. Je recherche cela pour mes grands parents qui profitent d'un voyage au pérou pour un mariage et souhaitent visiter un peu, mais ils ne parlent pas espagnol...
Written 15 September 2017
Bonjour Séverine
Depuis Trujillo les différents sites sont tous très accessibles en taxi. Ayant visité tous ces sites sans guide je n'en connais aucun. Toutefois je suis persuadé qu'il doit y avoir des tours opérateurs dans Trujillo qui proposent ce type service.
Bon séjour à votre famille.
Cordialement
Christophe
Written 17 September 2017
How much damage have the sites and sights in and around Trujillo suffered from this years rains?
Written 25 April 2017
I was there before the massive storms hit Northern Peru. Much of the site is under cover.
Written 27 April 2017
ciao.da trujillo ci sono bus per chan chan?
Written 30 March 2017
Sinceramente non lo so, ma se vai in piazza ci sn un sacco di tour operator, che ti portano con 30/35 soles tutto il giorno a fare il tour, ti portano anche al ristorante per mangiare.
Written 14 June 2017
Saben cuanto cuesta la entrada a Chan Chan? Y si esta abierto entre semana o solo los fines de semana? Espero su respuesta, por favor.
Written 22 September 2016
Visité Chan Chan el 23 de setiembre. La entrada es de 10 soles (Adultos) y tienes derecho a visitar la ciudadela, el museo de sitio y dos huacas más (pequeñas). No todo está en el mismo lugar, por eso debes contratar un taxi u otro vehículo.
Yo fui con mi esposa y dos hijas pequeñas. El taxista me cobró 60 soles. Me esperó en cada lugar y al final me dejó en un restaurante de Trujillo.
El lugar es impresionante y vale la pena. Dentro de la ciudadela hay guías que por 40 soles te explican todo. Con la recomendación del taxista pagué 2 soles por un folleto que te sirve de guía mientras visitas las plazas y ambientes de la imponente ciudadela.
Written 25 October 2016
How long does a tour of Chan Chan take? What about if combined with a trip to the Huacas?
Written 12 September 2016
We had a private English speaking guide and we had a long day but did visit Huacas in the morning then lunch then Chan Chan. I do feel you need a guide as previously stated there is not much information on site.
Written 13 September 2016
Showing results 1-10 of 21
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing