Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- The Peruvian government has decided to invest some S/1.5 million to help with various recovery and conversation efforts at Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America.

Chan Chan, which is located in the Peruvian region of La Libertad, 5km west of Trujillo, 570 kilometers north of Lima, has been deteriorating due to uncommon weather patterns that have plagued the area this year.

Cristobal Campana, head of the Chan Chan conservation team, indicated that uncommon climatological conditions have generated sporadic and intense rain this year, destroying dome of the site's mud walls.

After studying the damage, the Peruvian government decided to designate S/1.5 million (US$465,000) to protect the Tschudi Palace, and the Esmeralda and Arco Iris ruins which are all located withing the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The donation will go to an emergency plan that was implemented last November which by Peru's Ministry of Education.

The vast and fragile site was inscribed on UNESCO's Endangered World Heritage List in 1986, the same year it was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The vast mud city of Chan Chan was built between 850 and 1470 a.d. and was the imperial capital until the Chimor were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century. It is estimated that 30,000 people lived in the city of Chan Chan.