Pyramids of the Sun and Moon

Just south of Trujillo, against the backdrop of desert and mountains, sit two enormous pyramids, known as the Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon. These were built by the Moche people around 500 AD. (note: the Moche predate the Chimu, who predate the Incas).
Both of the pyramids are built of adobe blocks. The Pyramid of the Sun is said to be the largest adobe structure in the Americas. Estimates vary, but it is said to have contained somewhere between 50 and 150 million adobe blocks, and that it must have taken hundreds of thousands of workers to construct. When the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s-early 1600s, their thirst for gold was unquenchable. Hoping to find buried treasure in the Pyramid of the Sun, they diverted the nearby River Moche and destroyed a big chunk of the pyramid.
The Pyramid of the Sun is off limits to visitors but is still an impressive sight (and site).

Visitors can see the Pyramid of the Moon, which is decorated with remarkably well-preserved frescoes. The Pyramid of the Moon was used for human sacrifices, and many of the images on the wall are representations of the god of sacrifices. There are also representations of fish and water birds.

By the way, the names of these pyramids are misnomers. They were not originally dedicated to the sun and moon at all. This is just a name that was assigned by some early archeologist, who seeing a pair of pyramids assumed a sun and moon dyad, similar to the ones in Mexico.

Each adobe block was formed by hand from clay, sand, water, and small stones. Each block has the mark of the individual block maker. I liked this one. The photo is fuzzy because of a lack of light.

This is the god of sacrifices.

Images of sting rays, catfish, and pelicans, since this area is by the ocean.

Photo of the landscape taken from the Pyramid of the Moon