CHICLAYO, LAND OF THE LORD OF SIPÁN

Chiclayo is a commercial town surrounded by sugar and rice plantations in the fertile valley of the rivers Reque, Moche and Lambayeque. It has adobe "huacas", pre-Inca pyramid temples, which are waiting to be rediscovered and restored. Chiclayo became famous in 1987, when the archaeologist Dr. Walter Alva opened the Tomb of the Lord of Sipán with all its gold, silver and copper jewellery. About 40 kms/25 miles north of the town, the adobe complex of Túcume holds a temple of over 400 m/1,320 feet in length, where the Kon Tiki Foundation of Oslo with Thor Heyerdahl, is making excavations. The Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque and the Sicán Museum in Ferreñafe make Chiclayo a destination in itself.

Altitude: Sea level
Population: 470,000 approx.
Climate: Sunny all year (80º-60ºF/26º-15ºC)