Located in northern Peru near the city of Trujillo is the ancient temple of Huaca de la Luna.  Together with the Huaca del Sol the temples make up the Huacas de Moche named for the Moche people who once dominated the area.  The site was occupied between about 800 A.D. and 500 A.D.  Huaca de la Luna served primarily as the a ceremonial and religous temple while the Huaca del Sol was dedicated to administrative and governmental purposes.  Much evidence of human sacrifice has been discovered on the site including skeletal remains that have been analyzed as well as artwork commemorating the condemned.

There is a wonderful museum at the site that has a great collection of Moche pottery that has been excavated at the site.

We hired a guide at our favorite coffee shop in Huanchaco, Peru and took a tour.  The tour included a visit to a museum in Trujillo that gave a good point of reference of both the topographical layout of the major valleys in Peru and the chronology of the various empires that have dominated Peru throughout ancient history.  Our guide provided not only great knowledge of the ancient people of Peru, but also never-ending entertainment such as when he told us the story of taking San Pedro cactus (mescaline) while he was at the Nazca Lines watching the stars.  We also learned that marigold is fed to chickens to make their eggs have yolks that are more yellow.  A very informative tour to be sure.

The pictures below do very little justice to the Huaca de la Luna or the Huaca del Sol.  This is a site that needs to be seen in order to really grasp its magnitude and splendor.