Around the 6th Century what is now Northern Peru was the home of a culture that in two centuries achieved a degree of sophistication unique in the Americas; the Moche. The main city of the region is Trujillo and it has been important in the
country´s history since the pre-Columbian era. Close to Trujillo is Huanchaco, a traditional seaside resort, inhabited in ancient times by the Mochica, who went fishing using reed boats of the type that are still made today. Also nearby is Chan Chan, the largest mud-brick city in the world covering twenty square kilometres. Chan Chan (which means Sun Sun) was the administrative and social centre of the Moche culture.

Further north, Chiclayo is an ideal base from which to visit the magnificent mud-brick burial platform of Huaca Rajada where the world famous Tomb of the Lord of Sipan was discovered. Also within easy reach, is Túcume, an imposing site of 26 pyramids of the Lambayeque culture and one of Latin America’s most spectacular museums, the Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán, named after the world-famous burial Chambers discovered beneath the ancient adobe pyramids. The three-storey, six-million-dollar museum contains by far the greatest intact horde of gold artefacts in the Americas.

Around 10 hours north, through amazing landscapes and along paved roads, is Chachapoyas. From here visit the 771 metre high Gocta Falls and the amazing pre-Inca fortress of Kuélap.