The Chancay Castle is one of the tourist attractions near Metropolitan Lima that began receiving visitors in July, with a capacity of 50% of its capacity, after being closed due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Those who arrive at this interesting destination in Huaral must comply with all biosafety protocols, so that they can enjoy an experience that will transport them through different places and cultures.
Currently, people can not only visit the museums that are inside the castle, they also have the opportunity to take outdoor tours and visit the cultural theme park, where there are replicas of tourist attractions from countries such as Egypt, Thailand, India, Italy , Mexico, Greece, among others. There are even stagings, so that visitors feel as if they were in those places.
When entering the castle, one imagines traveling to the Middle Ages, appreciating the costumes of the time that make the public feel that they are part of the monarchy, warriors or guardians of the fortress.
Another attraction that Chancay Castle has to offer is 'The house of terror', where dark characters appear in each of its corridors: a shocking experience, only for the brave.
The Chancay Castle was built in 1924 on a rocky cliff on the shores of the continental base of the Pacific Ocean, from where you can see the spectacle of the flight of hawks, eagles and sparrowhawks. It is even possible to interact friendly with them.
A fun that is complemented by the good seasoning, because in the Castle of Chancay they prepare dishes such as pork on a stick, carapulcra, duck a la huaralina, pork in a Chinese box, as well as a wide variety of homemade delicacies. based on fish, shellfish and other ingredients.
Remember that this attraction is open every day, from 09:00 a.m. until 06:00 p.m., and those who wish to prolong this experience can stay in the castle, where they will be treated like kings and queens. For more information, all you have to do is enter here and get ready to have a great time in this small European corner of Huaral.
We are the first Multicultural Theme Park in Peru, an hour and a half north of the city of Lima, built in the 1920s on a rocky cliff, on the shores of the continental base of the Pacific Ocean, in the city of Chancay, Huaral province. and in the Lima region.
During its more than 30 years of operation as a tourist destination, obligatory to visit in the "small north", it has obtained different recognitions such as: "Cultural Center" by the Executive Power; "Tourist Resource of Peru" by MITINCI (Ministry of Tourism) in 2002 and Ambassador of the "PERU Brand" by Promperú since 2012. However, our greatest recognition is the gratitude of thousands of people who come and They return year after year.
The history of the Chancay castle dates back to colonial times. Who planned the construction of such a work was Consuelo Amat and León Rolando, the granddaughter of the famous viceroy Manuel Amat and Junet. History will remember the viceroy for his romance with the Peruvian Micaela Villegas, the 'Perricholi'. But also for the construction of important works such as 'The Real Felipe Fortress', 'The Bullring', 'El Paseo de las Aguas' and more.
Viceroy Manuel Amat y Junet was married to Doña Josefa de León with whom he had a son Manuel Amat y León. This in turn married María Santos Corrales whose son Manuel Amat and León Corrales, in turn, gave life to Consuelo Amat and León Rolando.
Doña Consuelo was a refined woman from Lima who, after the death of her husband Rómulo Boggio Klauer (mayor of Chancay). After traveling to Europe she returned to Chancay where she had a castle built in honor of her deceased husband. She herself was in charge of making the plans.
The construction of the first Chancay castle took 10 years (from 1924 to 1935). Under the Spanish medieval style, it had terraces, viewpoints, towers, stairways, passageways and 250 rooms on its four levels.
Due to economic shortcomings, the work remained unfinished for more than thirty years. In the second half of the 20th century, Don Juan Wiston Barreto Boggio, Doña Consuelo's grandson, decided to finish the work to create a tourist center. Thus, at the end of the century, the work as we know it today is concluded.
The castle of Chancay is known as the 'Big door of the small north'. Its medieval architecture is the attraction of visitors, especially from the city of Lima. It also has a hotel, a restaurant, a bar and museums that show the history of the town. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lima.
Consuelo was the great-granddaughter of a viceroy, one of the most educated, Manuel Amat y Juniet. This ruler is related to the first Peruvian artist Micaela Villegas, the famous "Perricholi".
Since she was little she was a lady of great artistic sensibility. All the memories of love and experiences of her were reflected in 400 poems written and published in two volumes.
One of them called "Sandalwood" dedicated to her mother and the book of poems "Leaves" dedicated to the memory of her beloved husband, the illustrious Italian Don Rómulo Boggio, whom she married at the age of 19. .
Doña Consuelo Amat y León built it in memory of her husband, after a trip she made to Europe.
She designed it in the baroque style but with details of great symbolism. For example, the face of the lion is found everywhere, since it represents the last name of the illustrious lady.
She herself drew the architectural plans for the site and was also in charge of supervising the construction.
Doña Libia Boggio Amat y León, one of Doña Consuelo's daughters, married Colonel Juan Francisco Barreto Saavedra. She inherited her mother's artistic sensibility. And one of her sons, Don Juan Winston Barreto Boggio, decided to continue with this beautiful architectural work.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, the place was completely abandoned and it was in the 1990s that it was going to be sold to the Jesuits to turn it into a monastery. However, Juan Winston Barreto Boggio, Doña Consuelo's grandson, began its reconstruction.
We place special emphasis and dedication on designing and permanently renewing our entertainment, culture and performing arts proposal, always thinking of all our visitors and guests, both adults and children; families and couples; domestic and foreign. In other words, we want all our visitors to live the adventure of a true multisensory experience.
Live music and dance, themed stories for children and for the whole family, themed magic during the day for visitors and at night for guests; medieval themed shows, falconry and contests with the public; animation and playful entertainment throughout the day. Artistic and decorative scenes of the most important civilizations in the world, works of art and replicas of the different cultures of the world, biological, regional and historical museums. Swimming pools and aquatic entertainment in the summer season, regional and thematic gastronomy; themed hotels facing the sea and the production of our own wines and pisco.
We seek that each thematic space, work of art, stage, show, service and product that we offer, reflects our love for the artistic and cultural manifestations of man through history and his great civilizations. We want our visitors, if they cannot go around the world in one day, to visit us and get to know the world,
We also have different themed environments and rooms built especially for social, cultural, corporate and institutional events.
Currently this site is considered a great tourist complex that attracts many people from all over Peru and the world. And best of all, it is very close to Lima, perfect for spending a full day with the family.
The experience includes visits to historical environments such as: the Hall of Memories, the Chancay Anthropological Museum of Culture, the Natural Museum and the La Covadonga Viewpoint. It also has recreational places such as restaurants, hotels, camping areas, sports courts, swimming pools and craft shops.
Below is a review of its main features.
The portraits of Doña Consuelo's marriage, and along with her children are all over the room. As well as period furniture, ornaments and everyday objects.
From the entrance and at first sight we can see an old coal iron and several travel suitcases. In reality they look more like large trunks and also quite heavy. They are practically "portable wardrobes" that they used for their long trips around the world.
One of the most important places in this area is the Hall of Memories, where you can see the former main room of the founder, Doña Consuelo Amat. After going through some rooms, in the background is her bed. On one side a baby's cradle and on the other the car, with which he would go out for long and quiet walks through Lima.
In the same way, there are wardrobes and mirrors that just by looking at them make you go back in time.
Continuing with the guided tour, we find a photographic gallery, where you can see the before and after of the Chancay Castle. In addition, the family tree of the Amat and León families (founder's family) stands out.
It was until 1989 that the place was completely abandoned. And already in 2002, from having been a house, it became a cultural center considered as a tourist resource.
In the future, this property would pass into the hands of the children of Juan Barreto, since the property is private, it does not belong to the State.
The only thing that belongs to the State is the Chancay Culture Museum, so the pieces are loaned so that they can be exhibited to the public.
This museum was created on July 23, 1991, during the administration of Mayor Luis Casas Sebastián.
In this room, a pre-Inca culture that developed in the Late Intermediate period between 1200 and 1470 AD is revealed, its center being located 80 km north of Lima. He reigned in the valleys of Chancay and Chillón. Little is known of their society.
Its economy was based on fishing, agriculture and trade. Their pottery was decorated in black and white covered with geometric ornaments, with animal or human motifs. While in their textiles they present embroidered lace and tapestries of singular notoriety.
Something very curious is that in many of its showcases and in different sizes, and even at the entrance of the hotel guarding the main entrance, we find these curious dolls.
These "toys" were considered mysterious offerings of this ancient Peruvian culture that has now disappeared, forming part of the burial and a type of funerary trousseau. Pretty scary don't you think?
Meanwhile, in the Natural Museum you can see various animals from different parts of the world, which have gone through the process of taxidermy. That is, to give "life" to the skin of animals, and to which eyes, fangs and an artificial tongue have been added.
And advancing on this tourist route through the interior of the fort, and upstairs from the back, we find, as if clinging to the cliff, a replica of what would be the ship of La Covadonga.
It is a representation of a Chilean ship of Spanish origin, which was sunk in the waters of Chancay on September 13, 1880 during the War of the Pacific.
The event occurred thanks to the strategy of 2 heroes of the Peruvian Navy: Lieutenant Decio Oyague (1842-1882) and Engineer and politician Manuel Cuadros (1849-1898). Today that boat is a kilometer and a half from the Castle at a depth of approximately 17 to 20 meters. It should be added that since the 1990s they began to rescue some pieces from La Covadonga that today are exhibited in different museums in Lima.
For example, in the Real Felipe Fortress Museum in Callao, in the Callao Naval Museum, and in the Plaza de Armas in Chancay. There you can see an anchor and a cannon. And in the castle there is this replica, a recreation of the front called the prow.
The tour ends with a wine tasting so you can buy the one you like best as a souvenir.
The guide leads you to a bar with a large number of wines, mistelas and pisco, and a person in charge of this position will guide you about each one.
There you find the semi-dry Burgundy with a single grape, or the Gran Tinto with 3 kinds of grapes. They mention that on the medicinal issue, these wines can be taken after meals, since it is perfect for settling fat.
The castle of Chancay has two hotels (Hotel Madre Perla and Hotel Camelot) with rooms facing the sea with all the necessary amenities to spend the night. The hotel offers night shows in the castle for the people who stay. Some areas of the hotel have furniture from the beginning of the 20th century. Prices vary from 180 Peruvian soles to 350 Peruvian soles per room.
The castle of Chancay offers music and dance shows for the public. The shows are given throughout the day, from 9 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon. They are recommended for the whole family, preferably for children.
Tickets have the following prices:
The Chancay Castle is open from Monday to Sunday. From 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The owner of the Chancay Castle is Juan Barreto Boggio
You have to go through the Panamericana Norte, through the Pasamayo variant where access for small cars is allowed, at this point you will pay 8 soles for the toll, when you reach Km 78 you will have to go to Av Luis Felipe del Solar, finally you have to go through Av Primero de Mayo where you will arrive at the Castle, the travel time is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The entrance to the castle costs S/.25 soles for adults and S/.12 for children. The cost of admission also includes the guided tour (every 30 minutes) and admission only with the guide to the museums and restricted areas such as: the memory room (residence of Doña Consuelo de Amat), the archaeological museum, the hall of mirrors and to the animal museum that has a great variety of dissected specimens from all over the world.
In the free access area we find a representation of the bow of the Peruvian frigate Independencia, this is actually a viewpoint where you can see in the distance the buoy where the Chilean schooner Covadonga sank during the war with Chile (year 1880) . In itself, the entire castle would become a great viewpoint because it was built on a rocky cliff that overlooks the sea, revealing all the beauty of the coastline. We also have several themed areas to take photos where we find the Greek park, Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, Mount Rushmore, ancient Egypt, among many others.
The castle has become a conglomerate of restaurants for all tastes, these have been built in medieval style and distributed around the square that overlooks the castle, which produces the sensation of entering a city of that time. Even the façade of the castle has been remodeled to have the appearance of a construction made of stone which gives it an ancient look. It can be seen that the entire complex continues to be remodeled and is expanding, they have combined these medieval constructions with others of Greco-Roman style such as the museum, the entrance to the hotel, among others.
The archaeological site of Caral was a citadel more than 3,000 years old, which is why it is known as the 'Oldest Civilization in America'. It is located about 100 kilometers by highway north from Chancay. It is one of the most important historical attractions in Lima. The entrance ticket costs 11 Peruvian soles for adults.
Just 25 kilometers further north of Chancay are these hills, one of the largest and greenest surrounding the department of Lima. These landscapes are formed from June to October by the humidity of the sea water that rises in the form of mist up there. The entrance ticket has a cost of 10 Peruvian soles for adults.
Just 1.5 kilometers from the castle of Chancay, the ship La Covadonga is sunk 20 meters under the sea. The battle took place on September 13, 1880 during the War of the Pacific between the armies of Peru and Chile.
The castle museums exhibit pieces of the so-called 'Chancay culture' developed between 1200 A.D. and the 1470 A.D. In the museum there are ceramic pieces, textiles and even funerary dolls that are the attraction of the place.
The definitive staging of the castle took place in 2002 when several forgotten spaces of the castle were recovered. Since then, it has been one of the main tourist attractions in Lima. The 1-day tours from there cost approximately 100 Peruvian soles per person.
Many are the routes that take you to Machu Picchu, but none is like the Inca Trail Tours, the most famous pedestrian path in the Americas. After flying from the capital of Perú, Lima, you will arrive in Cusco to walk for four days along a path through forests and dense fog, millenary stone steps and discovering the ruins of ancient fortifications and Inca cities, and all the time enjoying majestic views.
