Chan Chan
With its strange, honeycomb-like walls and labyrinth of wavelike parapets, this sprawling adobe capital looks at first to have been made by extraterrestrials. But don’t let its weird alien geometry fool you: Chan Chan was the seat of the greatest American empire prior to the Incas — and the largest pre-Columbian city ever built.
Historical Peru
How to visit Peru's famous ruins and hidden gems
Peru is one of the most archaeologically-rich countries on earth, and not just because of its blockbuster site, Machu Picchu. Indeed, the Inca of Machu Picchu fame were relative newcomers to pre-Columbian Peru; the final phase of a long series of human settlement that dates back to 9,000 BC – when civilisation in the so-called “old world” was just getting started. Remnants of these ancient cultures are scattered across the country, many of which are easily accessible for casual visitors...read more
