Chotuna Chornancap

Chotuna and Chornancap are two adobe complexes a short distance apart west of Lambayeque, and their interest is that they are tied to a story. Colonial chronicles record the Lambayeque legend of Naymlap, a lord who arrived by sea with a retinue and founded a dynasty, and one of the places named in that account, Chot, has long been identified with Chotuna. The archaeology shows a long occupation with Lambayeque, Chimú and Inca phases, friezes comparable to those at Chan Chan, plazas and ramped platforms. In 2011 excavation at Chornancap found the tomb of a woman buried with a crown, ornaments, ceramics and accompanying individuals - the Priestess of Chornancap - which added weight to arguments about female authority in the Lambayeque state. A site museum displays finds, and the two complexes are visited together on a marked circuit.

What you actually see

• The two complexes - Chotuna and Chornancap, connected by a marked circuit.
• The friezes - adobe relief decoration comparable to Chan Chan.
• The Naymlap link - the complex identified with Chot in the founding legend.
• The priestess tomb - the 2011 burial of a woman with a crown and retinue.

When to go

Year-round; grey from June to October. One to two hours including the museum. Combines with the Lambayeque museums and Túcume.

Honest expectations

Heavily eroded adobe, with the friezes protected and only partly visible. Hot and unshaded between the two complexes. The Naymlap connection is a chronicle account, not archaeological proof. The museum is small.

Nearby

Lambayeque and its Royal Tombs museum are east; Túcume is north.