Bosque de Pómac

The historical sanctuary at Pómac protects a dry forest of algarrobo, the carob tree of the Peruvian north, growing on a flat plain in Lambayeque. The trees are old, low and wide, with twisted trunks and thin canopies that give partial shade rather than proper cover. Scattered through the forest are more than thirty adobe pyramids built by the Sicán culture, now eroded into blunt earth mounds that need pointing out before you see them at all. The best-known single tree, the Árbol Milenario, stands alone with heavy horizontal limbs resting on the ground. Birdlife is good: parrots, hummingbirds and the dry-forest specialists of this narrow coastal strip.

What you actually see

• The Árbol Milenario - a huge old carob with limbs resting on the ground, the sanctuary's emblem.
• The Sicán mounds - eroded adobe pyramids among the trees, clearest from the raised viewpoint.
• The Las Salinas viewpoint - the platform that shows forest and mounds together in one sweep.
• Dry-forest birds - parrots, hummingbirds and species restricted to this coastal habitat.

When to go

Go early. The plain heats up sharply by mid-morning and the carob shade is thin. April to November is dry and reliable. In El Niño years the rains transform the forest and can also close the roads. Birds are most active in the first two hours of light, which is also the only comfortable time to walk rather than drive between stops.

Honest expectations

The pyramids are eroded earth and read as low hills unless a guide interprets them, and the gold that made the Sicán famous sits in museums in Ferreñafe and Lambayeque rather than here. Trails are flat, hot and short on shade. Signage is limited. Arriving in the middle of the day is uncomfortable and the forest looks grey and dusty.

Nearby

The Sicán museum in Ferreñafe and the Royal Tombs museum in Lambayeque hold what came out of the mounds.