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Chan Chan
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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.
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,536 reviews
Excellent
899
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492
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118
Poor
21
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6

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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stephany z
139 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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..
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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
5.0 of 5 bubbles
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.
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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
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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.
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
5.0 of 5 bubbles
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
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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.
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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
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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.
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
5.0 of 5 bubbles
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
4.0 of 5 bubbles
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
5.0 of 5 bubbles
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
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.

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Chan Chan, Trujillo

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