About 60 kilometers north of Trujillo, reachable only via unmarked dirt roads, is El Brujo (tel. 044/29-1894, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. daily, US$4). Out-of-the-way and unexplored, El Brujo is difficult to explore without a guide but is considered one of the more important ceremonial centers of the north coast, used from 3000 B.C. through colonial times. If you enjoyed seeing Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna, or Huaca Arco Iris, then El Brujo is the logical next step: a complex blend of the ancient cultures of the Chicama Valley, but above all the Moche. The site is essentially three huacas.

Huaca Cortada contains reliefs of Moche warriors, tumi in one hand and decapitated head in the other. There is also Huaca Prieta, but the most excavated is the Huaca Cao, a huge platform with murals on five levels depicting figures of priests, sacrificial victims, and dancing warriors—similar to those recently unearthed at Huaca de la Luna.

In 2005, on the northern side of the Huaca Cao, archaeologists unearthed the tomb of the mummy Señora del Cao. The second oldest female mummy to be discovered in Peru, the Señora del Cao is covered in tattoos that suggest that she was a political dignitary, not a religious leader.

Directly, west of the Huaca Cao stand the remains of a Jesuit cathedral that the Spaniards built to emphasize their dominance over the Moche culture. And to the east thousand-year-old bits of fabric pop out of the unexplored Lambaque cemetery from A.D. 800.

On your way out of El Brujo, stop at Restaurant El Timbo (Bolognesi 452, behind the municipal building) in Magdelena de Cao for fried fish and a glass of chica del año, a winelike chica that ages underground about 10 months, deepening in color and sweetness.

Getting to El Brujo

Although you can technically visit El Brujo without a guide, it is easier to navigate both the unmarked roads and the ruins with a personal guide (US$45) or with a Trujillo tour company (US$70 for a minimum of two people).

The nearest public transport goes only to Magdalena de Cao, which is five kilometers away from El Brujo, and because there are only a few mototaxis in Magdelena de Cao, you will probably end up walking to the site. To get to Magdelena de Cao, take a bus from Trujillo’s Avenida America Sur, headed for Chocope, and from Chocope, take a colectivo to Magdalena de Cao.