This itinerary is subject to change.
October 8th ‐ 18th, 2023
Evening: Flights arrive to Lima from USA
Transport to the hotel
Overnight in the Hotel Casa Andina Select Miraflores
Flights from the USA typically arrive very late into Lima. The group will arrive and go directly to their hotel in the Miraflores District to get some sleep before departure the next morning.
8:00 ‐ 12:00 Drive to Caral
15:00 Visit to JAICA Museum
Night at Chavín de Huantar.
8:00 ‐ 14:00 Drive to Chavín de Huantar
14:00 Lunch at Chavin de Huantar
15:00 Visit to JAICA Museum
Night at Chavín de Huantar.
8:00 ‐ 10:00 Tour Chavín de Huantar
10:00 ‐ 17:00 Drive to Casma, with lunch on the way in Huaraz, in view of snow-capped Andean peaks
Night at Casma
8:00 ‐ 8:30 Drive to Chankillo (30 min.)
8:30 ‐ 10:00 Visit Chankillo Astronomical Complex
10:00 ‐ 10:20 Drive to Sechin
10:20 ‐ 11:00 Visit Sechin
11:00 ‐ 11:40 Drive to Pañamarca
11:00 ‐ 12:30 Visit Pañamarca
12:30 ‐ 14:30 Lunch at restaurant operated by friends Julia and Raul in nearby Capellania
14:30 ‐ 17:30 Drive to Trujillo
Night at Trujillo
Night at Trujillo
8:00 ‐ 9:30 Drive to El Brujo
9:30 ‐ 12:00 Visit El Brujo Complex
12:00 ‐ 13:30 Drive to Pacasmayo Beach
13:30 ‐ 15:30 Lunch at Pacasmayo Beach
Free afternoon at Picasmayo Beach
Night at Picasmayo Beach
9:00 ‐ 12:00 Drive to Chiclayo with stop at San Jose de Moro to see replicated Moche pottery.
12:00 ‐ 14:00 Lunch in Chiclayo
14:00 ‐ 14:30 Drive to Lambayeque
14:30 ‐ 16:30 Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum
16:30 ‐ 17:00 Drive back to hotel in Chiclayo
Night at Chiclayo
8:30 ‐ 10:00 Drive to Batan Grande
10:00 ‐ 12:00 Batan Grande pyramid complex
12:00 ‐ 14:00 Lunch at Batan Grande
14:00 ‐ 16:00 Tucume pyramid complex
16:00 ‐ 17:30 Drive back to Chiclayo
Night at Chiclayo
9:00 ‐ 10:00 Drive to Sipan
10:00 ‐ 11:30 Visit Huaca Rajada
11:30 ‐ 12:30 Drive back to Chiclayo
12:30 ‐ 14:30 Lunch in Chiclayo
Free afternoon in Chiclayo
Check out of hotel
Dinner in Chiclayo
20:30 Take overnight bed bus to Chachapoyas.
8:00 Arrive in bed bus from Chiclayo.
9:00 ‐ 12:30 Drive to Revash Mausoleum, with quick lunch on the way
12:30 ‐ 14:30 Tour Revash Mausoleum
14:30 ‐ 17:30 Return to Chachapoyas
Night at Chachapoyas
Night at Chachapoyas
The Archaeology Channel Tours: Civilizations of Northern Peru
An educational tour designed and organized by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and guided by Dr. Michele Koons of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
This 12‐day tour will lead you through ancient northern Peru to see the remnants of ancient Andean civilizations such as the Caral, Chachapoyas, Chavin, Lambayeque, Moche, and Wari. Although this area receives far less public attention than Machu Picchu in southern Peru, this is truly the core area of Andean Civilization. You will spend your days exploring the sites and your nights resting in comfortable hotels.
Launching from Lima, where we spend the first night, the tour travels northward along the coast. The first stops are the sites of Aspero and Caral, two key sites of the earliest civilization in the Americas. After spending a night on the coast, we venture inland to the great ceremonial center of Chavin de Huantar, famous for the ón Gallery, located at the very center of the complex, containing a sculpture of the Lanzón, which is assumed to be a supreme deity of Chavín.
Then we return to our coastal northward path along the arid coastal strip to visit Chanquillo and its Thirteen Towers solar observatory; the ancient monumental site of Cerro Sechín, featuring megalithic architecture with carved figures in bas‐relief, which graphically dramatize human sacrifices; and Pañamarca, the subject of Dr. Koons' research, with spectacular frescoes. The northward path continues to the modern city of Trujillo and the site of Chan Chan, the second‐largest adobe city in the world and the largest ancient city of South America. The we stop at other impressive monumental sites nearby, including Moche Pyramids (or “huacas”) and the associated museum, the Museo Huacas de Moche. Not far away, we see another cluster of pyramids, with reliefs and murals, in the El Brujo Archaeological Complex.
On Day 7, we finally reach a major concentration of monumental sites near the modern city of Chiclayo. These include a series of pyramids and tombs, such as the spectacular tomb of the Moche ruler called “Lord Sipán,” and the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum, which holds objects recovered from that tomb.
The last phase of our tour involves an overnight sleeper bus high up across the mountains to explore the modern town of Chachapoyas and nearby sites associated with the Chachapoyas Civilization. This town, surrounded by Amazonian cloud forest, is the gateway to spectacular archaeological sites, such as the ancient mountain‐top citadel of Kuelap (accessible by gondola), which was a Chachapoyas political center. On our agenda south of Chachapoyas is the Revash Mausoleum, featuring spectacular and colorful cliffside tombs with ancient mummies.
On our final day, we fly back from Chachapoyas to Lima to make connections for our homeward journeys.
Total Price (double occupancy): $3900‐4900, depending on number of participants. Single‐supplement fee: $300.
Registration fee: $1400 to ALI by registration deadline of July 1, 2024. This amount is included in the total price above. Taking reservations now!
Costs not included: Air fare to Lima, transportation between the Lima airport and the first hotel, and gratuities for service providers (guides, waiters, drivers, maids, etc.).
What IS included: All lodging, all meals until the last day, private ground transportation, all entry fees, archaeologist tour leader (Dr. Richard Pettigrew), archaeologist tour guide (Dr. Michele Koons), occasional evening lectures, and local guides.
Dates: October 1‐13, 2024
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