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Trujillo (Peru)

Travel Guide South America Peru Trujillo

Introduction

Meer koloniale pracht op de Plaza de Armas 2

The city of Trujillo is located about 550 kilometres north of the capital Lima and a short distance from the Pacific Ocean, on the banks of the river Moche. Nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring, it was one of the first cities to be created by the Spanish in South America when Diego de Almarga founded it in 1534. He named it Trujillo in honour of the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro's birthplace, the Spanish city of Trujillo in Extremadura. In the 19th century, the city was a major exporter of sugarcane. The city is the capital of the La Libertad Region and is the third largest in Peru with over 800,000 inhabitants in the urban area.

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Sights and Activities

City Centre

During the last few centuries, the street plan of the city centre has not changed. It is filled with several monuments, including buildings from the colonial era, mostly in mudejar style. A good starting point to explore the city is the huge plaza major.

Chan-Chan

Chan Chan ruins - Trujillo

Chan-Chan is a palace complex built between the 7th and 15th centuries by the Chimu civilisation that was later conquered by the Inca empire. The complex lies about 5 kilometres west of the city. Inside the complex there are the remains of 9 palaces and several huacas. The complex was built out of adobe (mud) bricks. The only palace that is open to visitors at the moment in the Tik An palace, which holds several ceremonial squares.

Besides Chan Chan the archaelogical sites of the Moche civilisation which prevailed between 100 and 800 AD, are located 20 minutes by bus from the city centre. In the heart of the Moche river valley, and right at the foot of the Cerro Blanco, lie ruins of the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, two templs of adobe bricks built by the Moche people. Archaelogists estimate the Huaca del Sol to be made up of over 130 million bricks, making it the largest pre-Columbian structure adobe structure ever built in the Americas. The Huaca del Sol is speculated to have served as a centre for administration while the Huaca de la Luna was restricted to the priests and the elite; ritual battles and sacrificial ceremonies also took place here to appease and placate enraged deities.

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Weather

Trujillo has average daytime temperatures of 21 °C. In the summer the highest temperatures can reach over 32 °C and in winter it's never colder than 14 °C. Most of the year, the temperature stays in the low to mid twenties, hence why the city is also called the City of Eternal Spring.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	25.1 °C	26.2 °C	26.1 °C	24.6 °C	23.3 °C	22 °C	21.2 °C	20.2 °C	20 °C	20.6 °C	22 °C	23.3 °C
Avg Min	17.3 °C	18.2 °C	18.5 °C	17.3 °C	16.4 °C	15.6 °C	15 °C	14.8 °C	14.2 °C	14.4 °C	15.1 °C	16.2 °C
Rainfall	1.6 mm	1 mm	2.4 mm	0.1 mm	0 mm	0 mm	0 mm	0 mm	0 mm	0.3 mm	0.1 mm	0.1 mm

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Getting There

By Plane

Getting to Trujillo by plane is for most people only possible by getting to Lima Jorge Chávez International Airport first. From there you can take a plane to Trujillo. Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport (TRU) is located 10 kilometres north of the city. Lan Peru has 3 flights a day between Trujillo and Lima, while STAR Peru handles one flight a day to and from Lima. STAR also flies to Chiclayo.

By Bus

Located on the Panamericana Norte (north), getting to Trujillo via motorway is easily managed. It is serviced by many bus companies including Cruz del Sur and Ormeno.

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Sleep

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Hostal Portada del Sol	Av. 28 de Julio No 1	HOTEL	79
Hotel Pullman	Jr. Pizarro 879 La Libertad	Hotel	-
Residencial Munaywasi	Col�n No.250.	GUESTHOUSE	83
Hostal Cocosbeach	Av. Larco 1500 Huanchaco	Hostel	78
Surf Hostel Meri (former Hostal Lily)	La Ribera 720 Huanchaco	HOSTEL	75
Gran Bolivar Hotel	Jiron Bolivar 957	HOTEL	-
Hostal El Centurion	Calle Paraguay Nº 304 Urb. El Recreo	HOTEL	-
Hospedaje El Conde de Arce	Jr. Independencia N° 577	HOSTEL	-
Hostal El Ancla	Avenue La Rivera 198 Huanchaco	GUESTHOUSE	-
Un Lugar Surf Camp	Atahualpa 225 Huanchaco Viejo	HOSTEL	-

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Keep Connected

Phone

Post

Check the Serpost website, the national postal service (a private company), for more information about prices and options regarding the sending of postcards, letters and parcels. The post service is relatively efficient and post offices can be found in most cities and (larger) towns. Post offices generally are open from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday to Saturday and some are open on Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Postcards are available from street vendors and shops at any touristy area, and stamps are generally available as well, though sometimes only at the post office itself. It takes at least 10 days to send a postcard to North America and prices start at S/5.5. To Europe it is S/7.8 and it takes even a bit longer, around 2 weeks. For little extra money, you can choose 'expresso' services. For large parcels and quantities, you can use both Serpost or a company like DHL which is faster and offers the same prices, though it is still relatively expensive. UPS for some reason is much more expensive in Peru!

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