La Raya lookout
All the pyramids.
Geyson Garcia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carlo Brescia — CC BY-SA 4.0
A desert plain north of Chiclayo scattered with 26 large pyramids and mounds of mud brick over more than two hundred hectares, around a small rocky hill locals call «La Raya» or «Purgatory». It was a major centre, perhaps a capital, for three successive cultures: Lambayeque or Sicán from about AD 800, then the Chimú, then the Incas until the Spanish arrived. Centuries of rare rain and wind have worn the pyramids into eroded hills that look like natural mountains, but excavations have revealed their walls, ramps and rooms. The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl dug here extensively in the late 1980s, drawing world attention to the site. The highlight is the path up to a lookout on La Raya hill, from where you see all the pyramids spread across the green plain among sugar-cane fields and carob trees. The site museum, built of mud and carob wood in the traditional way, holds objects and models explaining the three cultures. The sun is strong and it is hot most of the year, so early morning is best for the climb. Túcume is usually combined with the Lambayeque museums on a day trip from Chiclayo.
All the pyramids.
Lambayeque, Chimú, Inca.
Mud and carob wood.
Túcume town, Lambayeque region, about 33 km north of Chiclayo
About twenty to thirty minutes on a clear path, and the view over the pyramids is worth it. Go up in the morning before the heat builds.