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Chiclayo Area, Trujillo Area & Trujillo Archaeology

North Coast

Tony Clemens
2005-09-01 18:32:31

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Our second trip to Peru. Actually we were mainly going to Ecuador but because we were flying on Aeroplan points, Lima was the closest airport to Ecuador. Since we had to go through Lima we decided to visit some areas of the country we never had time to visit last time.

We arrived late at Lima airport (from San Paulo, Brazil) and as soon as we passed through customs several people approached us about flights to Cusco. Having already been to Cusco our plan was to get the first available flight north either to Chiclayo, Trujillo or Cajamarca. It was late and instead of finding a hotel for the night and since early flights start to leave at around 6am we spent the night in the airport. On the upper concourse there is a lounge where you spend you time if you spend about $US5. Comfortable lounging seats.

We were hoping to get a flight to Cajamarca but it seems only one of Peru's six airlines serve that community. Every airline flies to Cusco, there are plenty of cheap flights. It appears that the airlines rotate to serve Cajamarca and presently it was Aero Condor, an airline we had bad experiences with on our previous vacation. We decide to fly to Chiclayo, then bus to Trujillo before returning to Lima for our flight to Quito, Ecuador.

Chiclayo Area

Chiclayo is Peru's fourth largest city and probably one of the fastest growing. There is little of interest in the city, even the main plaza and church are nothing spectacular but its lack of tourists and its nearby ruins definitely make it worth a visit.

You will see few signs of tourist infrastructure around the city and you might even be the only gringo in town. Instead of tour agencies and sovereign shops near the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) you will find various types of stores selling clothing, shoes, home furniture and food stuff. The few tour agencies around offer tours of the ...