Huaca del Dragón

Huaca del Dragon, also called Huaca del Arco Iris ("Rainbow Temple"), is a Chimu ceremonial center near Trujillo, Peru, built around the 11th century. Its adobe perimeter walls reach up to 6 meters high and feature two main platforms connected by ramps. The temple is renowned for its high-relief friezes depicting repeated rainbow arches, two-headed serpents, and zoomorphic figures symbolizing fertility, rain, and water. Fourteen storage deposits on the upper level likely held offerings. Abandoned after the Spanish conquest, it was preserved under sand until rediscovered in the 20th century.