Chan Chan

Absolutely impressive site! The ruins of Chan Chan are huge and give you a real sense of the scale of this ancient city. It’s very well maintained and easy to explore, with detailed explanations about the culture and history of the Chimú civilization. Walking through the palaces and seeing the geometric and animal designs on the walls is truly fascinating. A must-visit if you’re in Trujillo!

The site of Chan Chan is immense and it’s difficult to appreciate the latter unless you go to the tower which provides a panoramic view. The site would benefit from more information boards though particularly for independent visitors as maps or additional information wasn’t available on the day we visited. Luckily, we had a guide who explained the historical and cultural significance. This enabled us to understand its origins and purpose otherwise it would have been bewildering. The site is easy to navigate and on level ground. It’s quite atmospheric as you can see the ocean in the distance and hear it quite clearly wherever you’re stood on the site. It’s very open so take plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen. We visited after lunch and it was very quiet.

Chan Chan is a colossal expanse of a former civilization, all built on sand. If you are into archaeology, then this dig should be on your list. It represent a mere 0.02% of all possible temples and complexes which have been excavated to date. We only spent a hour or two in this one portion of the zone, however it would have been better to allocate a few days to the experience. The quality of your guide will have a huge impact on your visit. If you are lucky than you will have a local who is passionate about the history of this civilization.

Certainly Chan Chan is one of the historically highly important archeological sites in the country. However, from a visitor's perspective the site has a few drawbacks. First, there is very little to no information at the archeological spots (only some in the museum). At the main site you can not even tell what is "original" and what was reconstructed. Second, the complex is large and scattered across the area (the ticket covers four spots) - you either need a driver or be prepared to walk quiet a lot. There is also no information on where to start and which route to take between the four spots. Of you habe the time, pay this site a visit and decide for yourself. Bit if you have to choose, I would personally recommend Huaca de Luna instead for a half-day trip.

It was great and really interesting and if you have kids then they would be really engaged if you hire a tour guide

This visit is a must go !! I definitely recommend to visit this place and to take a guide (60 soles). With a guide it is much more easy to project oneself in the culture and lifestyle of the Chimu and understand the interaction between different cultures in Peru (Moche, Chimu, Inka). Without a guide, you won’t be able to catch all the details and subtleties of this place!

I can't believe Chan Chan isn't more well known and visited. It's an amazing archeological site with interesting history. If you enjoyed Machu Picchu, the history and culture, then make the trip north to Trujillo and see Chan Chan. It's a different culture and history, but no less interesting.

I think the chan chan site itself was not as impressive as I originally thought. Not a lot of parts of the chan chan ancient city was open to public so the visit to the chan chan site itself was not very long. There are not a lot of description or reconstruction pictures shown on site so it all depends on the guide. Our guide was excellent so it was ok but the site itself was not well presented. It was also not very crowded during our visit. Must visit the museum beforehand or else you won’t know what is happening out there.