Description: These ancient Mochica structures rise out of the desert looking more like mountains than human-built pyramids. One feels a sense of unreality - did people actually build this giant structure made only of Adobe bricks? Now, the area is surrounded by low-lying buildings, comprising small villages of mostly indigenous people. But at one time, grand pyramids rose up from the desert and between them, an ancient city.
All entrances come with a complimentary guide and we had a sweet woman who was struggling to improve her English, and the tour was more fun for the English-Spanish exchange where we tried to help her come up with the appropriate English phrasing to express certain concepts. And what concepts! The people who constructed this pyramid were much enamoured of human sacrifice, done on a regular basis, but not before many hours of torture. All this is painted on their murals, brightly colored still once excavated from the desert sands. A mass grave was found in the center of the Huaca de la Luna, showing evidence of extreme violence. It can feel a bit difficult to relate to these people, with their images of sacrifice and the fanged Jaguar god presiding over it all. But of course, our society has its own human sacrifice - the death penalty for example. Not to mention our own violent wars and mass graves. It leaves much to ponder upon.
This site only takes an hour to visit and is best seen in the morning before the sun is out in force.
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