History
Population
Geography
Climate
Gastronomy
Economy

 

HISTORY

In the Trujillo area, many cultures were developed such as the Cupisnique, the Mochica and Chimu. That is why there are numerous archaeological remains that attest the development achieved by these civilizations. However, the main urban site in the area belongs to the Chimu culture, which constructed as its capital, the city of Chan Chan, with a maximum population of 100,000 people. Trujillo was one of the first cities founded by Spanish conquerors in America. Diego de Almagro on December 6th, 1534 founded the town of Trujillo in honor of the hometown of Francisco Pizarro, Trujillo in Extremadura.
The following year, Pizarro officially founded the city on March 5th and called it Trujillo, “The City of New Castile”. Pizarro made the outline of the city, shared the first 31 land lots to the neighboring founders and the first council was installed. On November 23rd, 1537 King Charles I of Spain, by Royal Decree, gave the title of “City”, and presented his coat of arms, which remains today.

 

POPULATION

Trujillo's metropolitan population in 2007 was 804.296 inhabitants, equivalent to 2.9% of the total population of Peru. It is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in northern Peru.

 

GEOGRAPHY

This is the point where the Cordillera de los Andes meets the Pacific Ocean. The Andes has a row of jagged peaks of low elevation, behind which the Andean plateau rises sharply to the east, to the Province of Otuzco and Santiago de Chuco. These two provinces cover the Pacific watersheds, which determine the formation of the river Moche, river Chicama in the north and Viru in the south.

 

CLIMATE

The city of Trujillo has a dry climate with a hottest temperature of 32°C during the summer. In the winter, the temperature drops to 13°C. The months of December to March are the hottest, and the coldest are the months of June through September. However, maintaining a warm temperate climate of 19°C to 20°C throughout the year, Trujillo is known as the City of Eternal Spring. The area nearest the sea of is foggy in the morning and usually has a lower temperature than in the central and upper parts of the city.

GASTRONOMY

Dining in Trujillo is a wonderful experience. The cuisine represents the complete variety of the northern coast. It is not possible to identify meals or dishes as specifically from Trujillo. Trujillo inherited many culinary customs from their predecessors (Timoto-Cuicas and the Spanish colonial), who provided their own recipes and cooking styles. The people always consume coffee, pepper and chimo.

ECONOMY

The city of Trujillo was considered by the magazine, "America Economía", as the second fastest growing economy in Latin America. Highlighted are the financial, mining, electrical, aquifer, real estate and business sectors. Trujillo is an agricultural center, the expansion of irrigated agriculture led to growth in the city, especially the production of sugar cane, which had as its ultimate goal the creation of Agricultural Cooperative Sugar Casa Grande (Empresa Agroindustrial Casa Grande). Among the internationally most popular products, much asparagus is exported to neighboring countries, the United States and Europe. Peru, in 2007, was the largest exporter of asparagus. The Chavimochic Special Project, which includes the irrigation of the valleys of Chao, Viru, Moche and Chicama, has achieved much success by the exportation of many other agricultural products such as artichokes, paprika peppers, avocado and mango. Most of Peru´s tanneries and shoe manufacturers are located in Trujillo. They are composed of micro and small enterprises, which are characterized by abundant labor demand and intermediate goods. In tourism, Trujillo hosts a valuable archaeological and cultural heritage of ancient pre-Hispanic cultures such as Mochica, Chimu, embodied in the archaeological sites of The Huaca del Sol Y de la Luna of Moche culture, the citadel of Chan Chan, the archaeological complex of El Brujo, the Huaca Esmeralda and the Huaca Dragon or Rainbow.