Chao

Chao lies in a river valley on Peru’s northern coast, between the desert and the foothills of the Andes. Archaeological remains across the valley show that communities settled and cultivated this dry country long before the Spanish conquest. Water descending from the mountains made fields possible amid the surrounding desert, while the Pacific supplied marine resources nearby. The valley formed part of the coastal landscape over which the Chimú and later the Incas extended their authority.