Painted reliefs
Original colours.
Burkhard Mücke — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martin St-Amant (S23678) — CC BY 3.0 · Martin St-Amant (S23678) — CC BY 3.0 · Pitxiquin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pitxiquin — CC BY-SA 4.0
A huge stepped temple of mud brick built by the Moche people, who flourished in northern Peru between the first and ninth centuries AD, centuries before the Incas, at the foot of a white hill near the Moche River. It was part of the old Moche capital, facing the larger Temple of the Sun across the plain. The temple's secret is that the Moche built a new temple on top of it roughly every hundred years for six centuries, burying the old one inside. This preserved the inner walls in their original colours, and visitors today see raised reliefs painted red, yellow, white and black, the best known being the recurring wide-eyed face of a mountain god. The highlight is the great north façade, a wall of seven stepped tiers carrying rows of coloured figures: warriors, spiders, sea creatures and dancers holding hands. The Temple of the Sun is not open inside and can only be seen from a distance. Visits go in groups with a site guide, and the nearby Huacas de Moche museum holds pottery and jewellery. It is hot and sunny, so the morning is the best time.
Original colours.
Seven tiers.
A layer a century.
Huacas de Moche area, about 8 km south-east of central Trujillo
No: the Temple of the Sun is closed to visitors and is seen only from a distance; visits cover the Temple of the Moon and the nearby site museum.