North Coast - Peru - page 655

Getting There & Away
Turismo Barranca ( 235-3549; cnr Bolognesi & Plaza de Armas) leaves every 10
minutes for Lima (S15, four hours) from 2:30am to 10pm. Alternatively, flag down one of
the many buses heading in that direction. Most buses from Lima going up the coast can
also drop you in Barranca. For Huaraz, catch a colectivo (S2) to the Pecsa petrol station in
Pativilca, 3km from the Huaraz turnoff. From there, colectivos leave when full (S30, three
hours); infrequent buses from Lima also stop to pick up passengers. For something more
fixed, Z Buss ( 964-404-463) departs four times daily from Pativilca (S20, four hours,
11am, noon, 3pm and 5:30pm).
Casma
043 / POP 24,700
A small and unflustered Peruvian coastal town; there is little to do in Casma except watch
the whirring of passing buses. The big draw here is the archaeological site of Sechín,
about 5km away. Casma's once-important colonial port (11km from town) was sacked by
various pirates during the 17th century; the town today is merely a friendly blip on the
historical radar.
From here, the Pan-American Hwy branches off for Huaraz via the Callán Pass
(4225m). This route is tough on your backside but offers excellent panoramic views of the
Cordillera Blanca. Most points of interest in town lie along the Pan-American Hwy,
between the Plaza de Armas in the west and the petrol station in the east.
Sights
Sechín (adult S5; 8am-6pm) , 5km southeast of Casma, is one of Peru's granddaddy
archaeological sites, dating from about 1600 BC. It is among the more important and
well-preserved ruins along the coast, though it has suffered some damage from grave rob-
bers and natural disasters.
The warlike people who built this temple remain shrouded in mystery. The site consists
of three exterior walls of the main temple, which are completely covered in gruesome 4m-
high bas-relief carvings of warriors and captives being vividly eviscerated. Ouch. Inside
the main temple are earlier mud structures that are still being excavated: you can't go in,