Attractions in Chiclayo

A brief look around Chiclayo should be sufficient. Start at the Parque Principal, the attractive and overwhelming focal point of life in the city. People camp out on park benches and slurp on ice cream cones, shoeshine boys scurry from one pair of scuffed-up loafers to the next, and pigeons flutter from treetops to sidewalks to rooftops. The white, twin-domed neoclassical Catedral that dominates the square dates to 1869. About 10 long blocks south of the plaza, the Paseo de las Musas is an attractive park area rather inexplicably outfitted with neoclassical statuary of mythological figures.

The fascinating Mercado Modelo, 5 blocks north of the Parque Principal, is one of Peru’s most raucous open street markets. Open daily from dawn to dusk, it carries virtually everything under the sun, but it’s famed for the section of small stalls crammed with the elixirs and potions of shamans and faith healers.

The so-called mercadillo de brujas (witches’ little market), near Calle Arica, is redolent with exotic spices and drying herbs, wild with visual overload: hanging shells, small altarpieces and bottles filled with hooves and claws, snakeskins, miniature desiccated crocs, claws, skunks, and fish eggs. Echoing throughout are the distinctive come-ons of vendors. The city of stalls is about as close as you’ll get to India or Morocco in Peru, but it’s nonetheless a primer on the country’s extensive informal economy.

You’ll find luggage, natural Viagra substitutes, baskets, guitars, hats, calf brains, children’s clothes, vats of peanut butter, stuffed animals, shops of canned goods that look like someone’s pantry, machetes, and butcher knives. There are dozens of beauty salons under wooden ceilings, and shoe and electronics repair headquarters.

In Lambayeque

The modern Museo Arqueologico Bruning is the undisputed highlight of this small, quiet, and dusty town that was once considerably more important than its bigger neighbor but has long since been overtaken by it. A few clues to Lambayeque’s former status are evident in a number of colonial houses and the baroque Iglesia de San Pedro, a large and impressive yellow-and-white church built in 1700 and located on the main square. It’s worth a look inside for the impressive mural paintings on the ceiling of the central nave and the cupola. Columns are painted to look like real marble, which I suppose they do if you squint hard enough. The rest of the church is done up in pastel hues of green, blue, and yellow.

On the corner of Dos de Mayo and San Martin is Lambayeque’s other building of import, Casa de la Logia (also known as Casa Montjoy). Erected in the 16th century, it claims the longest balcony in Peru, a pretty wooden wraparound structure 67m (220 ft.) long. The house can be viewed only from the exterior.

Lambayeque really springs to life only on market day, Sunday. Otherwise, there’s little to detain visitors. If you’re looking for a bite to eat after visiting the Bruning Museum, check out Dos de Mayo, where there are several cevicherias and other restaurants.

A Modest Discount–A combination discount boleto is available to visit the Museo Arqueologico Bruning and archaeological sites of Tucume and Sipan for S/15 (USD 4.25) rather than the separate admission price of S/24 (USD 6.85). Okay, so that’s not huge savings, but it’s worthwhile just the same if you’re certain you’ll be visiting all three sites. Combo boletos are available at any of the participating locations.