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Trujillo, Peru — South America Overland Guide
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posted by Chris Vasquez
Drive from Chiclayo: approximately 3–3.5 hrs. Continue south with the Pacific never far away, arriving early enough to explore rather than merely sleep. This stage is designed around the expedition rule that we never ask the driver—or our 2001 Toyota Land Cruiser 100 Series—to grind through more than six hours of actual driving in a day. The reward at Trujillo is Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna and the surf culture of Huanchaco. The route itself is part of the story: we are watching South America change through the windshield rather than flying over the difficult pieces.
Adventure & stay: Walk the archaeological zones, watch reed boats at Huanchaco and take a sunset beach drive only where legal and firm. Our preferred stay is Costa del Sol Wyndham Trujillo. A full-service property gives us good parking, a comfortable bed and an easy place to reset equipment. The idea is never luxury for luxury’s sake; it is recovery that lets us get back outside the next morning. A real bed, a hot shower, a spa or a good meal can be just as important to a long overland expedition as another night under canvas.
Land Cruiser check & daily equipment: Inspect underbody after coastal dirt, check wheel bearings and brake dust, and verify that roof/cargo mounts remain tight. For this leg we want dust mask for archaeological sites, wide-brim hat, camera cover, torque wrench and thread locker for recurring fastener checks. The 100 Series is being used exactly as Toyota intended—quiet and comfortable on pavement, full-time four-wheel drive ready when the road turns to gravel, and mechanically conservative enough that preventative checks remain more important than dramatic modifications. We leave Trujillo only when both the crew and the truck are ready.
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