TRUJILLO, PERU

'Trujillo' is a city in northwestern Peru. It is located on the lower Moche River, near its mouth on the Pacific Ocean. Trujillo is the capital of the La Libertad Region and is the third-most populous city in Peru, behind Arequipa and Lima. As of 2005, the urban population was 644,547.^[1]

Contents

History

Climate

Economy

Tourism

Transportation

Education

Sister cities

References

External links

History

Trujillo was founded in 1534 by Diego de Almagro under the name of "Villa Trujillo," in honour of Francisco Pizarro's birthplace, Trujillo in Extremadura, Spain. On 23 November 1537, King Charles I of Spain gave it the rank of 'city' and the coat of arms that remains a symbol for the city. Trujillo is also known as the "Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera".

Climate

Trujillo has a dry climate with an average temperature of 21°C. The summers can reach temperatures over 32°C and the winters are never colder than 14°C. Most of the year, the temperature stays in the low to mid twenties. Trujillo is known as “La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera", "The City of Eternal Spring", because of its very sunny and pleasant weather year-round. The International Spring Festival in early October attracts visitors from all over Peru and from all over the world.

Economy

Trujillo is the most important economic center of northern Peru and an inland commercial and transport center for the surrounding farming areas. In 1800, the city of Trujillo greatly expanded due to extensive irrigated agriculture, fueled primarily by the sugarcane industry. Today asparagus, rice and shoes are the area's main products.
Among the internationally known products of Trujillo, asparagus is exported to neighboring countries, Europe and the United States. The areas around Trujillo are among the largest exporters of white asparagus in the world. Peru is currently the world’s leading asparagus exporter, followed by China and Mexico - [1]

Tourism

Tourism is also a major industry in Trujillo due to the city's proximity to important sites where the Moche and Chimu civilizations evolved. These civilzations are well known artisans, many artifacts having been found during archaeological digs in the city. Trujillo aspires to be designated a World Heritage Site, because of the proximity of both those cultures and its historical colonial city centre whose old houses attract many visitors. These "Casonas" include the "Casa Pinillos" dating back to 1614, the "Casa Ganoza" (formerly "Casa de la Cadena") dating back to 1753, and the "Casa Jimeno" (formerly "Casa de la Lecheria") dating back to the 1600s. Nearby ruins include the Chimu mud city of Chan Chan, and the Moche ruins of Huaca del Sol, Huaca de la Luna, and El Brujo. The world-famous beach Huanchaco, a surfing destination, is located just north of Trujillo. In addition, the revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar lived in a house on the Plaza de Armas.
Trujillo's restaurants offer a wide variety of local food such as shambar, mostly served on Mondays, ceviche and sopa teologa

Transportation

Important to the city's transportation network is the Cap. FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport.

Education

There are many universities in Trujillo but the most well known are the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, as well as Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego, Universidad Privada Cesar Vallejo and Universidad Privada del Norte.

Sister cities

List of sister cities, designated by Sister Cities International:

★ Decatur, Georgia, United States

References

1. Peru - Trujillo Agglomeration

External links

★ Information on Huaca de la luna and Huaca del sol

★ Huacas del Sol y de la Luna Archaeological Complex official site

★ Information on El Brujo Archaeological Complex

★ Chan Chan World Heritage Site

★ Colonial Trujillo photos