Adobe Pyramids

In Túcume, 35 km (21 mi) north of Chiclayo, you can see an immense pyramid complex, including Huaca Larga, one of the largest adobe pyramids in South America, as well as dozens of smaller ones spread across a dry desert. Go first to the small museum, Museo de Sitio, and take a tour with an English-speaking guide to learn about the history of the nearby ruins. Then, follow your guide and climb 10 minutes to see the 26 giant pyramids, surrounded by the smaller ones, and the areas in between, which have yet to be excavated.

The rugged desert landscape, sprinkled with hardy little algarrobo (mesquite) trees, is probably very similar to what it looked like when—so the legend goes—a lord called Naymlap arrived in the Lambayeque Valley, and with his dozen sons founded the Lambayeque dynasty and built the pyramids we see today. 074/800-052 or 076/422-027. S/8. Daily 8-5.