Peru Guide
The North
Batán Grande
The site at BATÁN GRANDE, 57km northeast of Chiclayo, incorporates over twenty pre-Inca temple pyramids, and over ninety percent of Peru's ancient gold artefacts are estimated to have come from here – you'll notice there are over 100,000 holes, dug over the centuries by treasure hunters. Batán Grande is also known to have developed its own copper-smelting works, which produced large quantities of flat copper plates between 5 and 10cm long. These artefacts, called naipes, are believed to have been used and exported to Ecuador as a kind of monetary system.
The Sicán culture arose to fill the void left by the demise of the Mochica culture around 700 AD, and were the driving force in the region from 800 to 1100 AD, based here at Batán Grande. Known to archaeologists as the Initial Lambayeque Period, judging by the beauty and extent of the pyramids here, this era was clearly a flourishing one. Nevertheless, Batán Grande was abandoned in the twelfth century and the Sicán moved across the valley to Túcume.
The main part of the site that you visit today was mostly built between 750 and 1250 AD, comprising the Huaca del Oro, Huaca Rodillona, Huaca Corte and the Huaca Las Ventanas, where the famous Tumi de Oro was uncovered in 1936. The tomb of El Señor de Sicán (not to be confused with the tomb of El Señor de Sipán, on the north side of the Huaca El Loro, contained a noble with two women, two children and five golden crowns; these finds are exhibited in the excellent museum in Ferreñafe. From the top of these pyramids you can just about make out the form of the ancient ceremonial plaza on the ground below.
Part of the beauty of this site comes from its sitting at the heart of an ancient forest, dominated by algarrobo trees, spreading out over some 13,400 hectares, a veritable oasis in the middle of the desert landscape. This National Sanctuary of the Pomac Forest is the largest dry forest in western South America. The site's interpretative centre (074/974632390), at the main entrance, has a cafeteria, hostel accommodation (no phone and rarely available; Price: $5-10), a camping area, a small, archaeological museum with a scale model of the site, and sometimes, guides with motorbikes or mototaxis. Entry, guide and ride can cost between $4 and $8 per person, and horseriding from here to the main temple complex is sometimes available for a dollar or two more.
A kilometre or so in from the interpretative centre you'll find the oldest algarrobo tree in the forest, the árbol milenario; over a thousand years old, its spreading, gnarled mass is still the site for pagan rituals, judging from the offerings hanging from its twisted boughs, but it's also the focus of the Fiesta de las Cruces on May 3. In the heart of the reserve lies the Bosque de Poma, where over forty species of birds have been identified, and most visitors at least see some iguanas and lizards scuttling into the undergrowth. Rarer, are wild foxes, deer and anteaters. There's also a mirador (viewing platform) in the heart of the forest, from where it's possible to make out many of the larger huacas.
To visit the site in just one day, it's best to take a guided tour or taxi from Chiclayo or Ferreñafe, though you could take public transport: colectivos to Batán Grande pueblo (10km beyond the site) leave each morning from block 16 of 7 de Enero in Chiclayo – go as early as possible and ask to be dropped at the interpretative centre ($1.50, a 2hr trip; check with the driver for return journey times).