You'll board a flight in Lima for the 1 hour flight to Trujillo, Upon arrival, your driver will transfer you to the Hotel Huankarute, which will be your accommodations for the duration of your stay in the Huanchaco/Trujillo area. The hotel is located in the center of the Huanchaco’s Balneario, home of the area's best surfing waves! Huanchaco straddles the past and the present, as the local fishermen are  descendants of the Mochica people, about whose culture and rituals you'll be directly involved in investigating as you excavate at the archaeological wonder of Chan Chan. 

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You're welcome to join your companions and Dr. Prieto a Welcome Dinner at Big Ben for traditional Peruvian cuisine before settling in for the night. Tomorrow starts the real adventure!

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Daily Accommodations: Hotel Huankarute

Meals: Breakfasts included daily, packed lunches on fieldwork days

Welcome and Farewell Meals are included for the group. 

Excavations at Chan Chan have been ongoing since 1969, yet the daily lives of its residents and skilled artisans remain a fascinating mystery waiting to be uncovered. While the grand palaces may capture the eye, most people lived in bustling southern and western neighborhoods that once sheltered more than 30,000 inhabitants. Of these, an estimated 10-20% were talented artisans—metalsmiths and weavers whose craftsmanship shaped the city’s culture as evidenced by fine textiles and gold, silver, and copper objects that have been unearthed during previous excavations.

This year, your focus will be on two houses nestled in one of these neighborhoods. You’ll be looking for hearths, trash pits, ritual offerings, and a wealth of scattered artifacts intertwined with layers from earlier occupations. Your work will shed light on how these homes were arranged and how their layouts evolved over time.

Due to the arid climate of Chan Chan, artifacts have been extraordinarily preserved and are constantly being discovered. You’ll be on the lookout for ceramic fragments, animal bones, plant remains, textiles, shells, and metal artifacts. The excavations may also yield complete ceramic vessels at certain locations within the houses.

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The ultimate goal is to get a better understanding of the residential component at Chan Chan, and to learn more about how common people lived in one of the largest urban settlements in the Americas. In this process, we are interested in learning about the diet, craft production, domestic life, and household ritual practices of the Chimu people

You will spend five days excavating at Chan Chan. Your work will include excavations to clear walls, dig through mud floors and soft fills, sifting soil and labelling all of your discoveries.

• You can expect to discover artifacts from prehistoric households such as textiles, ceramic vessels and fragments, metal objects, and organic materials such as carved bones, wood and gourds in addition to human remains.

• All the artifacts you work on will be stored at the Laboratory of Archaeology and Conservation at the University of Trujillo, under the permits of the Ministry of Culture in Peru.

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Each day, you will have breakfast and the hotel. You will be provided with a packed lunch which will include a sandwich, fruit, nuts, cereal bar, water and a rehydration drink.to eat out in the field.

• Sunday-arrival with welcome meal

• Monday-Tuesday: Full-day excavation at Chan Chan from 7:30am-4:30pm

• Wednesday: Guided visit to El Brujo and afternoon visit to Dr. Prieto’s Laboratory of Archaeology and Conservation at the University of Trujillo for collections and artifact viewing.

  • Today, the group will also enjoy a ceviche and picso making class for lunch!

• Thursday: Full-day excavation at Chan Chan from 7:30am-4:30pm

• Friday: Morning excavation at Chan Chan and afternoon guided visit to Chan Chan Museum.

• Saturday: Guided visit to La Luna and a farewell meal together

Dr. Prieto will be your guide for an immersion into the archaeological history of the area. He will accompany and guide you to two additional sites during the course of the week.​

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About Chicama Valley, El Brujo and Huaca Cao

El Brujo is ritual and funerary complex consisting of three pyramids (huacas) that date from the Mochica and Sican cultures which exixted between AD 100 and AD 800 in and around Trujillo. These temples, built entirely of adobe bricks, are richly decorated. Archaeologists have found finely crafted jewelry and ceramics.

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Of the three huacas at the site, Huaca Cao Viejo is the most well known. Famous for its polychrome reliefs and mural paintings, it was at this site that archaeologists unearthed a 1,500 year old tattooed female mummy named  Señora de Cao, She was found wrapped in a cotton funerary bundle with pieces of gold and jewellery, indicating her high status. The tomb of the Lady of Cao is the first evidence of the burial of a female biological character of the Moche elite inside a temple of the same era. 

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About Huaca del Sol y de La Luna

Huaca del Sol y de la Luna, or Temple of the Sun and Moon, were part of the ancient Moche capital built of millions of adobe blocks between the first and eighth centuries AD.

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These two monumental mud-brick structures stood opposite each other, framing the bustling dwellings, wide avenues, narrow streets, and public squares that made up the heart of Moche urban life. Archaeologists believe the Huaca de la Luna served as the spiritual and ceremonial hub of the Moche capital, while the towering Huaca del Sol functioned as its administrative center.

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The Huaca de la Luna’s delightfully colorful friezes tell the story of the god Ai-apaec. The pyramid of Huaca del Sol is decorated with brightly colored abstract geometric designs with archaeological evidence suggesting ritual activities, including human sacrifice, took place here.

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Publications

• Peru’s great urban experiment-Archaeology Magazine

• Remembering the Shark Hunters-Archaeology Magazine

• A mass sacrifice of children and camelids at the Huanchaquito-Las Llamas site, Moche Valley, Peru

• Pampa La Cruz: A New Mass Sacrificial Burial Ground during the Chimú Occupation in Huanchaco, North Coast of Peru

• 76 child sacrifice victims, all with their chests cut open, unearthed at burial site in Peru-Live Science

• Unknown Elites-Archaeology Magazine

 Videos

• The Lost City of Chan Chan-National Geographic

• The plot to overthrow the Inca Empire-Ted Ed

• Exploring the Mysteries of Chan Chan-World Wonders​

• A day in the life of a Peruvian Shaman-TedEd

• A day in the rebellion against the Inca Empire-TedEd

• About Huanchaco-National Geographic

Excavations will be conducted at the archaeological site of Chan Chan, which has no trees or shade. Expect bright sunshine daily, with temperatures average about 61-7 2 F (16-22 C)

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Please bring:

1. Hiking or work boots

2. Appropriate clothing for high UV exposure. We suggest long-sleeved shirts and pants

3. Work/gardening gloves 

4. A head net for protection from flies

5. A sun hat and/or a hat with a wide brim and sunglasses

6. Sunscreen of at least SPF 30+

7. Water bottle

8. Stomach sickness is common, so be prepared and bring medicine

9. Proof of health and travel insurance are required by each participant.

This morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we'll bid farewell as our time excavating at Chan Chan has come to an end. You'll be taken to the airport for you flight back to Lima where you can continue your adventures with a post-itinerary!

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Continue your travels in the north of Peru and book an extension to visit Caral and Chiclayo or travel south  to the incomparable UNESCO World Heritage site of Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cuzco or the Nazca Lines and beyond!

Contact us to discuss a customized pre- or post-trip itinerary.  

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Meals: Breakfast

Pricing is based on an 5-guest minimum

Single occupancy is an additional $100. Triple occupancy also available

Cancellations will incur a fee

Travel logistics managed by Be Peru

Includes:

• All  tools for archaeological fieldwork are provided, along with dedicated on-site training, instruction, and supervision.

• The cost of the experience includes funds to support the archaeological fieldwork and research

• 7 nights in a standard room at Hotel Huankarute, beachfront hotel  in Huanchaco

• Breakfast each day

• Packed lunch on fieldwork days

• Welcome and Farewell meals

• Round-trip airfare from Lima to Trujillo

• Excursions  and entries to El Brujo and Huaca de la Luna y del Sol

• Ceviche and Pisco lunch class

Excludes:

• International airfare

• Meals not mentioned

• Other activities not mentioned

• Travel Insurance is mandatory  

• All other travel necessities /valid passports and visas, for travel from point of original departure through to the final destination are strictly the responsibility of the traveller.  

1.  What makes this site significant?​

Chan Chan is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. It is considered the largest prehispanic city in prehispanic times in the Andes. Chan Chan was built using adobe bricks and it was the capital of the Chimú Empire (A.D. 1050/1100 - 1450). Chan Chan hosted approximately 40 to 60 thousand people at its peak and it is mainly composed of the palaces of its rulers, large plazas, shrines, cemeteries and residential neighborhoods. In the neighborhoods, many artisans (goldsmiths, weavers and wood carvers, potters) created exquisite pieces of art that today are spread around the world in museums and private collections. The Chimú empire was conquered by the Incas around A.D. 1450, and according to oral history, the city of Chan Chan was destroyed and abandoned, being only occupied by the large palaces and ceremonial sectors of the city.

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2.  What has been most surprising about your discoveries at Chan Chan?

Excavations carried out in Chan Chan helped to demonstrate that the city was not abandoned. Instead, at least the neighborhoods of Chan Chan were re-designed and a new urban layout was built by the Incas. The objects found in the late Inca-related houses suggest that the Chan Chan citizens continued enjoying access to exotic goods and to a vast diversity of food supplies, indicating a very dynamic economy at that time.Also, recent excavations at one of the cemeteries of the city and a different domestic sector, show that the neighborhoods living on the west side of the city were more engaged in fishing practices, something not previously known about Chan Chan. Finally, the frequent discovery of dog burials in the houses recently excavated, confirmed the trending pattern observed in previous excavations (1970s) which show the regular presence of this pet in the urban settings of this Chimú city.

3.  What are your current research objectives at these sites?

My current challenging this assumption that Chan Chan was only occupied by the large palaces and ceremonial sectors of the city. Our goals for the 2026 field season is to continue the excavations in the residential sector of the city, targeting the "house of the weavers" and opening a new area which promises to find other kinds of craft production areas, associated with household context. Participants in the project will help to sort out the faunal and plant remains, as well as the numerous artifacts to be found: ceramic, metal, bone, textiles, etc. 

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4. What was the most important or rewarding find in Chan Chan?​

Huanchaco is my hometown, so it’s been rewarding to reconstruct its forgotten history and to share this information with present-day community members. There is a desire to study and protect these sites that are being destroyed by looting and urban expansion. It’s also been incredible to play a part in the training future generations of archaeologists.