The Extraordinary Town Planning of Chan Chan

The Chimú were a civilization who lived on the northern coast of Peru and flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries. Their capital city Chan Chan, meaning “Sun Sun” in the Chimú tongue, was the largest adobe (mudbrick) city in pre-Columbian America.  

The city spanned twenty square kilometres and was built with a strict political and social divide. In the center ringed by high earthen walls there are nine large rectangular complexes known as citadels or palaces. 

These complexes cover six square kilometres and contain temples, dwellings, storehouses, reservoirs and funeral platforms arranged around open spaces.  

The walls of the buildings were often decorated with friezes of human and animal designs.  

Some also show marine creatures like fish and seabirds, demonstrating how important the sea was to Chimú life.

The site is now a popular tourist destination but excavation continues in certain areas of the site.