THE ANCIENT RUINS IN HUANCHACO.

The societies of ancient Peru were agricultural in nature and had a strong and dynamic connection with its natural environment. They had a fundamental preoccupation in understanding the cycles of nature, possible because the forces that animate the universe are in constant movement, such as the cyclical return of the seasons. They considered that in similar way humans also experience natural cycles when they are born, live, die and travel to the underworld or inner world, where life is reborn.
In the stepped symbol of the Andean world view represent the 3 realms, planes or worlds, in which the universe interchange energies: the world above, the terrestrial world, and the underworld. The spiral symbolizes the infinite dynamic that exists between them.
Huanchaco has been home to many cultures over the past 5,000 years, including Moche, Chimu, and Inca. Its original population were fishermen, who had an enormous respect for the moon and a golden fish called "Huaca Taska." Some folk stories suggest the name Huanchaco originated from Hua'Cocha, a Quechua name for "beautiful lake."
Hanchaco of today is a popular vacation beach town in the city of Trujillo, of La Libertad region.
Huanchaco is near the ancient ruins of Chan Chan, once the largest adobe city in the arid desert close to the sea. Its walls, adorned with reliefs of geometric designs or representations of fish and seabirds, give an glimpse of how impressive this city was. In contrast to the rest of the area, this site is well preserved with scaffolding and canvas roofs erected in parts to protect the ruins from greatest threat; the weather.
Huanchaco was the port for Chan-Chan, which was established 4 km away. It was also the main port during Moche period, and the preferred port of the Incas.
Centuries older than Chan Chan is the Temple of the Moon and looking out across the desert, it will show theMoon's imposing pyramidical counterpart -Temple of the Sun- still buried in this manner. These temples beautifully preserved serve as a reminder of the art, patience and skill behind the site that have survived the attack of the weather. Their colors remain vivid. The daily life of Moche people, evidence of sacrifices and ancient building practices where a new level of infrastructure would be built every few decades on top of the old one give a window to the understanding of how the mind of these people of ancient Peru worked out.
The Dragon's Huaca also called the Rainbow Huaca is another archaeological site near Chan Chan. It is a large religious monument, administrative and ceremonial center. It is constructed of adobe, with murals decorated with sculpted decoration in relief showing human figures and rainbows. Upon entering the Huaca a ramp leads to the first level where figures are also carved on the walls taking the form of a dragon. Another ramp, smaller than the first, leads to a second level where pits are built possibly used to store food.
The Emerald Huaca is an archaeological site belonging to the Chimu culture. It is estimated that the adobe construction was done during the first stage of development of the Chimu, in close link with the capital Chan-Chan. It occupies an area of approximately 2,600 square meters. Its architecture has 3 terraces adorned with zoomorphic and geometric figures (diamonds) all in relief. It has a fairly steep ramp that connects its two levels.
Following the Spanish take over of the Andean territories in 1534, after pillaging the old town a new one was built over the remains of the old city port, and was baptized as Huanchaco, on January 1, 1535. Subsequently, the city functioned as the main port of new Trujillo city, but the port closed in 1870. Two decades later Victor Larco Herrera (later mayor of Trujillo), rebuilt the pier exclusively for exporting sugar from his family owned plantations in the neighboring Chicama Valley, one of the most important areas of sugar production in Peru.
The 1925 "Child's current" (El Nino) event was the 3rd strongest in the 20th century that affected La Libertad region and the arid Northern areas up to Ecuador.
The Child's current was first introduced to the scientific community in reference to the anomalous climatic event that took place in 1891 along the Northern coast of Peru. It was described as an abnormal intrusion of warm oceanic water from the North, replacing the normally-cold coastal-up welled water and favoring the occurrence of strong rainfall and flooding.
The 1925 event came with severe rainfall and flooding and an abrupt onset of strong Northerly winds. It also was characterized by warm conditions (El Nino current) from the North, but cool conditions elsewhere in the central Pacific. A weaker climatological version of this current is normally present after Christmas time.
The city of Trujillo was completely destroyed by inundation and its inhabitants were reported to have taken refuge on the hills near the city. Over 200mm of rain fell on the city in one 3-day period, which had receiving only 17.9 mm in the preceding five years.
However, there is no doubt that this part of Peru, even though under constant call for disaster, is heaven for surf and surfers. During the morning or afternoon, lots of people congregate there to take lessons mixing with more experienced riders.

AREQUIPA, THE WHITE CITY.

Arequipa (founded in 1540) is the colonial-era capital of the same name region in South Western Peru. It is bordered by the Ica, Aya'Cucho, Apu'Rimac, and Cuzco regions in the North, the Puno Region in the East, the Moquegua Region in the South, and the Pacific Ocean in the West. The capital city, also called Arequipa, is Peru's second biggest and most populous.
This Arequipa region has a rough topography, characterized by heavy layers of volcanic lava covering large areas of its inter-Andean sector. It also has deep canyons such as the ones formed by the Ocona (it helped form the deep ones) and Majes rivers.
The region is divided into 8 provinces: Arequipa, Camana, Caraveli, Castilla, Caylloma, Conde'Suyos, Islay, and La Union. The 3 Coastal Provinces (Caraveli, Camana, and Islay), all have popular beaches. Various ports are also found along the coastline, the 2 most important being Mollendo and Matarani, both in the province of Islay.
The Colca Canyon on the Colca River, with a depth of 3,270m / 10,730ft, one of the deepest in the world and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA, is situated in the province of Caylloma, 160km / 99 mi North West of Arequipa.
The Cotahuasi Canyon is located at the highest Andean point of the province of Arequipa. The only road leading to the canyon goes through Chuquibamba, capital of the province Conde'Suyos, then Aplao in Castilla province. The road which is unpaved goes quite high, through a 4,500m pass between Coropuna and Solimana mountains. The altitude and remoteness of this region mean that residents have retained many of the practices that are no longer common in neighboring regions.
In the Castilla province near Corire, in the coastal desert, Dead Bull (Toro Muerto) is an area with more than 3,000 volcanic rocks with ancient petro-glyphs dating back to the ancient Wari culture (flourished in the South Central Andes) which dominated much of this region. Further to the North near Andaguas lies the Valley of Volcanoes. Almost 100 cones of various sizes dominate the lava-hardened landscape. One of the highest mountains of the province is Coropuna at 6,425m/21,079ft above sea level.
Arequipa city, capital of the province holding the same name is known as the White City because of its architecture with beautiful baroque buildings completely built out of sillar, a kind of white volcanic stone. Its historic center is anchored by the Army Square (Plaza de Armas), a stately main square flanked on its North by the 17th-century neo-classical Cathedral, which houses a museum displaying religious objects and artwork.
Arequipa city is surrounded by 3 major volcanoes: Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu. Of the three, the most well known is the Misti.  The Misti (5,822m/19,101ft) volcano lies between the Chachani (6,075m/19,931ft) and Pichu Pichu (5,669m/18,599ft). The Misti had its last eruption in 1985, 198 years after its previous documented eruption.

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR.

Chavin de Huantar is an striking archaeological and cultural site surrounded by structures of dressed stone, with complex terraces and squares, in the Andean Highlands of Peru. It was constructed before 3000 BC, and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BC.
The cultural expressions found at Chavin did not originate in that place, but can be seen as coming into their full force there. It served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship the Creator.
The site is located in the Ancash Region of Peru, province of Huari 250 km/160mi North of Lima.
At 3,180m /10,430ft in elevation, it sits between the Eastern (Black: snow less) and Western (White: snowy) ranges of the Andes, near two of the few Mountain Passes that allow passage between the desert coast to the West and the Amazon jungle to the East. It is also located near the confluence of the Huachesca and Mosna Rivers, a natural phenomenon of two joining into one that may have been seen as a spiritually powerful phenomenon. The location also seems to have helped make it a special place.
The central building is a massive temple complex constructed of rectangular stone blocks, containing interior galleries that incorporates bas-relief carvings on pillars and lintels.
New findings of a recent archeological-acoustic study suggests that the ceremonial center in the central Highlands of Peru, practiced a fine art and science of manipulating sound with architecture to produce desired sensory effects.
The Lanzon, a sacred statue depicting the central deity of the ancient Chavin culture is housed in the central chamber of a series of underground passages within the Old Temple of the ceremonial and religious center with a central duct connecting the area of the monolith with that of the Circular Plaza.
The Lanzon was treated as an oracle with the power to emit sounds thanks to a hole in the roof of the chamber. The divinity was treated as a symbol of trade between the 3 dimensions of existence, fertility, dualism, and humankind's interaction with nature, or any combination of these.
The 4.5m/15 ft-tall obelisk is a painstakingly carved piece of white granite in a roughly lance-like shape, and depicts a human-feline hybrid with claws, writhing snakes for hair and eyebrows, fangs curved sideways in a smile, and one arm raised while the other is lowered. Other carvings depict the Lanzon clutching a Strombus shell in one hand and a Spondylus shell in the other.
The place was considered mystically sacred and religious ceremonial activities of great significance was performed there. Acoustic evidence have been discovered for selective sound transmission between the site of the Lanzon monolith and the Circular Plaza. The duct built in was specifically designed to filter to a certain sound range frequencies emitted by the Chavin pututu (shell trumpet) instrument.

THE REGION OF PIURA.

Piura is a region in North Western Peru. It is bordered by the Tumbes Region and Ecuador on the North, the Lambayeque Region on the South, the Cajamarca Region on the East and the Pacific Ocean on the West. Its capital is the city of Piura and its main port is located in Paita.
The territory of Piura Region has a smooth topography in the Coast and a rough one in the Sierra. There are many Desert Plains in the region. The Sechura Desert, located South of the Piura River, is Peru's largest desert. The Bayovar depression, which is the lowest point in the country, is located in the desert. The morphological forms most common are the dry ravines that suddenly become copious when there are heavy rains. Other features are half-moon shaped dunes, the marine terraces such as those of Mancora, Talara, and Lobitos; fluvial terraces formed by the Chira and Piura Rivers.
To the East the territory is rougher. Valleys more or less deep have been eroded by fluvial waters. The major peak surpasses 3000m. The Porculla Pass (Paso de Porculla), to the South West of the territory is only 2138m deep and is the lowest of the Peruvian Andes.
The Rivers crossing its territory belong to the Pacific watershed and to the Amazonas Hydrographic System. The Chira River is the most important and flows its waters into the Pacific Ocean. The Piura River, whose banks hold the city of the same name, only flows its waters into the sea during summer, which is the rainy season.
The climate is desert type and semi-desert type in the Coast and Western Andean watersheds, sub-tropical in the Eastern watersheds. The rain is scarce, but when the 'El Nino' phenomenon arises, the rain is copious and makes the dry ravines become alive giving rise to floods and great morphological movements.
Punta Parinas, the Western-most point in the South American mainland, is located in the Piura region.
Piura is the land of Carob Trees (Locust Bean), a flowering evergreen shrub. It is known as Algarrobo in Latin America. They are able to survive long drought periods, but to grow fruit , they need 500 to 550 mm rainfall per year. Their deep root systems can adapt to a wide variety of soil conditions and are fairly salt-tolerant. Its development has been favored by the petroleum industry and for the fishing boom. Carob is mildly sweet and is used in a syrup form as an ingredient in cakes and cookies, and as a substitute for chocolate. Carob contains absolute no caffeine and no theobromine as chocolate does, so it is no toxic to some mammals.
Talara is a province in the Piura Region. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the West, the Paita Province on the South, the Sullana Province on the East, and the Tumbes Region's Contralmirante Villar Province on the North. 
Talara had the greatest reserve of oil in all Peru. The Talara Province is divided into 6 districts: -El Alto, -The Brea, -Lobitos, -The Organs, -Mancora, -Parinas.
One of the attractions of Talara city is its gastronomy, you can find good seafood restaurants. There are many of them at Caleta's San Pablo, a district of Talara.
Cebiche de Mero, and cold beer are the popular food in town.

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF CHIMBOTE.

Chimbote is the largest coastal town in the Ancash Region of Peru, and the capital city of both Santa Province and Chimbote District. It is surrounded by two natural bays, the bay of Chimbote and the Bay of Samanco, both with excellent harbor conditions.
Chimbote forms a region comprising a number of urban areas with New Chimbote District to the South. Between these districts, a swamp named "the Humedales de Villa Maria,"is home to a local species of heron, a long-legged bird, along with many species of frogs and fish. The swamp is fromed by the Lacramarca River that flows through the Santa Province, one of the 20 provinces of the Ancash Region.
The Ancash Region is located in Northern Peru. The Name of the Region originates from the Quechua word "Anq-Ash" meaning together "Light" and "Of Little Weight," deriving from "Anq-As" meaning "Blue" or from "Anq-A" meaning "Eagle." The Region is bordered by La Libertad Region on the North, Huanuco and Pasco Regions on the East, the Lima Region on the South, and the Pacific Ocean on the West. Its capital is the city of Huaraz (War-As), and its largest city and port is Chimbote.
The Ancash Region has two, great longitudinal Valleys, which combine the Mountain characteristics of the Alley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas) with the sylvan ones of the High Maranon (Alto Maranon).
The territory of the Coast (miles of sandy beaches), high plateaus, and Andean Punas of the Ancash Region are flat, while the rest of the territory, in the Andes, is very rough. In the West, slopes with strong declivity form narrow canyons with abrupt and deserted sides.
The rough territory of the region is crossed by two mountain ranges: on the Western side, the Black Mountain Range (Cordillera Negra), which has peaks without glaciers, and on the Eastern side, the White Mountain Range (Cordillera Blanca), which has peaks covered with snow and ice, like the Huascaran and the Alpamayo. Between these two Mountain Ranges, the Santa River flows through the Alley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas). This Valley narrows to form the "Duck Canyon"(Canon del Pato). The snow-covered peak of Huascaran, highest summit of Peru and 2nd of the Americas, reaches a height of 6,768m/22,205ftmi/4.2mi and contrast with the 6,263m/20,548ft deep trough (a linear structural depression that extends laterally over a distance) of Chimbote found in the Pacific Ocean.
Along the coast of Ancash, the Pacific Ocean exerts great influence, sometimes with tragic effect.
The city of Chimbote is located on the Coast in Chimbote Bay, 130 kms South of Trujillo city, and 420 kms/260mi North of Lima on the North Pan-American Highway. It is the start of a chain of important cities on the Peruvian North Coast like Trujillo, Chiclayo, and Piura.
Chimbote is the natural exit channel for the exports of the Santa River Valley, and a starting point for the entry to the Alley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas). The port of Chimbote is considered by some one of the most beautiful and safest ports in the Peruvian Coast. It extends 12kms/7.5mi, from Red Creek Bay (Caleta Colorada Bay) in the North, to Alconcillo in the South.
The city is served by the Teniente FAP Jaime Montreuil Morales Airport, that have regular flights to Lima. The rail line Chimbote-Huallanca serves as a railway for coal and iron mines on the interior and a railway for the Santa River Valley by transporting rice, cotton, sugar cane, and bananas. The Bus Terminal "El Chimbador" is the primary ground transportation facility. The bus terminal is located outside the city. It has become the vital connection for the region's workers, travelers and visitors.
 

THE BEACH TOWN OF HUAN-CHACO.

Huan-chaco is a beach town of Mochica origin and a popular vacation spot. It is the most visited beach of Trujillo in Peru. It is situated 12kms North West of Trujillo city, in a bay, on a terrace at the foot of Campana Mountain.
Huanchaco is notable for its surf breaks and its Little Reed Horses (caballitos de Totora), and its ceviche.
Totora Horses are reed watercrafts used by Peruvian fishermen for the past 3,000 years. they transported their nets and collected the fish in their inner cavity. They are made from the same reed, Scirpus Californicus, used by the Uros in the Lake Titicaca region. Currently Huanchaco fishermen still use these vessels, riding the waves back into the shore, suggesting the origin of the first forms of wave riding.
Huanchaco was approved as a World Surfing Reserve by the organization 'Save the Waves Coalition' in 2012. This designation is the first awarded to a Latin America Town and the 5th in the world.
Huanchaco is visited by tourists all over the world, particularly Surfers. Several surf events are held and one of the most important each year in January is the Huan-Chaco Longboard. It has taken place since 2010 at the El Elio Beach bringing together leading surfers of several countries of the world.
The Swamps of Huanchaco, also known as Wetlands of Huanchaco is an ecological Chimu Reserve (natural interactions among organisms and their environment), located about 14kms North West of Trujillo city. From this ecological Reserve the ancient Mochica extracted the raw material for the manufacture of the ancient Little Reed Horses. The Little Reed Horses of Huanchaco beach still are being made from the Swamp's material and being used as ships of work.
The Moche civilization flourished in Northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche and Trujillo. Their cultural sphere was centered on several Valleys on the North Coast of Peru in the Regions La Libertad, Lambayeque, Jequetepeque, Chicama, Viru, Chao, Santa, and Nepena, occupying 250 miles of Desert Coastline and up to 50 miles inland.
The Moche society was agriculturally based, with a significant level of investment in the contruction of irrigation canals for the diversion of River water  to supply their crops. The culture was very sophisticated and their artifacts express their lives, with detailed scenes of hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice, sexual encounters in the spiritual world manifested in the physical realm, and elaborate ceremonies. They are particularly noted for their painted ceramics with so much details of the everyday life, gold work, monumental constructions (Huacas=Sources of Spiritual Energy) and their superb designs of irrigation systems.
Huan-chaco is near the Ruin of Chan Chan, the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. It is located 5 kms West of Trujillo, in the mouth of the Moche Valley, in La Libertad Region. It is a particular arid section of the Coastal Desert. Due to the lack of rain in this area, the major source of water is in the form of Rivers carrying runoff from the Andes Mountains, allowing the control of land and water through irrigation systems. Chan Chan spanned 20 square kilometers having a dense urban center of 6 square kilometers and an extravagant citadels. The citadels were large architectural master-pieces which housed plazas, storerooms, and burial platforms for the high religious class. The splendor of this citadels suggests their association with the high rank levels of religious authorities. The housing for the artisans and people working in the citadels are small , irregular and all connected. The workshops and the place for boarding were the same showing a multipurpose use for the same area.
Huan-chaco's original population were fishermen. They worshipped the moon and the golden fish named Huaca Tasca. It was the main port Moche, Chimu, and the preferred port of the Incas.
In the colonial era, Huan-Chaco continued to be the main port of Trujillo city, but the port closed in 1870. Twenty years later was rebuilt exclusively for exporting sugar from businesses in neighboring Chicama Valley, one of the most important areas of sugar production in the country.
Huan-Chaco is the birthplace of the popular Peruvian "Ceviche."Oral stories says that "Ceviche" was prepared fresh using the raw fish freshly caught from the sea and marinating it with fresh lemons from Simbal (Yunga Village nearby), and chili from the Moche River Valley, and the final touch was the seaweed extracted from the sea.