El Brujo Nature Reserve

Address: El Brujo Archaeological Complex, Magdalena de Cao, Ascope Province, La Libertad, Peru

Hours: Daily 9:00am-5:00pm (museum hours may vary)

Admission: S/15 (~$4.00) adult (approximate)

El Brujo is an archaeological complex on Peru’s north coast in the La Libertad region, notable for Moche-period adobe pyramids and painted friezes. The complex includes several huacas (mound pyramids) and a museum that displays finds from the excavations.

A principal highlight is the pyramid and temple area known as Huaca Cao Viejo, where excavations uncovered well-preserved mural decoration and the high-status female burial dubbed the Lady of Cao. The on-site museum presents the burial’s grave goods and archaeological context, making the tomb and its artifacts the main draw for many visitors.

The complex was constructed and used by the Moche culture during the pre-Hispanic period, broadly within the first millennium AD. Excavations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries uncovered architecture, murals and burials that clarified the site’s ceremonial and funerary roles.

El Brujo lies on Peru’s northern coastal plain in the Chicama Valley near the town of Magdalena de Cao in La Libertad. The site is accessed by road from nearby coastal towns and is part of the broader Moche cultural landscape on the north coast.

• Lady of Cao discovery: The tomb known as the Lady of Cao was excavated in 2006 and is a central reason many visitors come to the site museum.

What to See#

• Huaca Cao Viejo (Temple of the Lady of Cao): Huaca Cao Viejo - the sloping adobe pyramid and temple complex where murals were found and the female burial known as the Lady of Cao was excavated.
• Site museum (Museo Cao): Site museum (Museo Cao) - displays artifacts recovered from the excavations including metalwork, textiles and the preserved remains and grave goods associated with the Lady of Cao.

El Brujo is about 60 km north of Trujillo. From Trujillo take the Panamericana Norte (PE-1N) north toward Ascope and exit toward the town of Magdalena de Cao; local signs lead to the site (roughly a 75-minute drive). Public buses run from Trujillo to Magdalena de Cao; from the town the site is a short taxi ride. The nearest large airport is Carlos Martínez de Pinillos (Trujillo).

• Arrive early morning to see the painted friezes at Huaca Cao Viejo with softer light and fewer buses.
• Buy a combined ticket for the Museo Cao (Lady of Cao) and the archaeological complex if available - it saves time at the entrance.
• Look for the shallow grooves and soot marks on the adobe bricks of the pyramids; they are modern fingerprints of centuries of human traffic and ritual.