Huaca de La Luna & Chan Chan: Moche Temples and Chimú Ruins

Walk through two civilizations' sacred sites in one morning, then trace the Chimú story through ceramics and light.

A full-day tour from Trujillo visits the Huaca de La Luna temple complex and the Huacas de Moche Museum, then explores Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, and its site museum. Hotel pickup starts around 10am. The guide speaks Spanish or English depending on your choice at checkout. Lunch is your choice of where to eat, and you return to Trujillo by 6pm. Entry to the archaeological sites is separate from the tour price.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Moon and Sun Temples and Chan Chan

• Pick up from accommodation in Trujillo
• Visit Huacas de Moche Museum
• Explore Huaca de La Luna complex
• Lunch break (not included)
• Visit Chan Chan Site Museum
• Return to Trujillo city

The experience

The day starts with pickup from your hotel in central Trujillo around 10am, heading into the Campiña de Moche. At the Huacas de Moche Museum, three rooms hold the remains excavated from Huaca de La Luna: pottery, tools and other artifacts that show how the Moche people lived, how they organized power, and how they worshipped Aia Paec, their mountain deity. The museum sets up what you'll see next at the actual temple.

Huaca de La Luna itself is a religious complex built entirely from adobe, with the image of Aia Paec carved in high relief across its walls, surrounded by iconography of warriors, dancers, spiders and snakes. After you've walked through the temple, there's a break for lunch. You choose where to eat or follow your guide's recommendation. In the afternoon, the tour moves to Chan Chan, the sprawling capital of the Chimú civilization and one of the largest pre-Columbian cities in South America. The Chan Chan Site Museum then walks you through the region's cultural layers: ceramics, textiles, metalwork and construction materials in the first rooms, then the prehispanic development of the region, and finally a room where projections and sound effects tell the Chimú story. You return to Trujillo's main square by 6pm.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup from central Trujillo and drop-off at the main square.
• transport between sites.
• a professional guide in your chosen language.
• entry to the Huacas de Moche Museum and the Chan Chan Site Museum.

Options for this experience

2 options

Spanish Guide10:00Includes pickup

English Guide10:00Includes guide pickup

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesTuesday to SundayDeparts at 10:00

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Paid on siteUS$ 8.59

Prices and times updated 12 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by PVTravels

Is this one for you?Book the English guide if you want detailed explanation of the Moche and Chimú iconography and history. The Spanish guide suits travelers comfortable with that language or those traveling with Spanish-speaking companions. Either way, the morning focus on the museum and temple means you see the artifacts before the architecture, which makes the high reliefs and carvings at Huaca de La Luna much clearer.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What's the difference between the Huaca de La Luna temple and the museum?

The Huacas de Moche Museum holds the artifacts (pottery, tools and remains) that archaeologists extracted from Huaca de La Luna. The temple itself is the adobe structure where those objects were originally found and used, so you see the context at the museum first, then stand inside the actual religious complex afterward.

Do I need to pay extra for entry to the temples and Chan Chan?

Yes, entry to Huaca de La Luna, the Huacas de Moche Museum, and Chan Chan are separate from the tour price. Your guide will help you purchase tickets at each site.

Is lunch included, and where do we eat?

Lunch is not included in the tour price. You choose where to eat during the midday break, or your guide can recommend a restaurant nearby. The group reconvenes afterward to continue to Chan Chan.

How much walking is involved?

The tour is suitable for all fitness levels. You'll walk through the Huaca de La Luna temple complex and around the Chan Chan site, but the pace is set by the group and there's no climbing or scrambling required.