Trujillo

cathedral at Trujillo, Peru

Trujillo, city, Peru, lying in the coastal desert, 343 miles (552 km) north-northwest of Lima.

The second oldest Spanish city in Peru, Trujillo was founded in 1534 by Diego Almagro; the following year it was elevated to city status by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it after his birthplace in Spain. It sustained heavy damage from an earthquake in 1612. Following 19th-century foreign investment in sugarcane plantations, Trujillo’s population swelled, until it became one of Peru’s largest cities.

The irrigated lands of the surrounding Moche River Valley produce sugarcane, rice, and asparagus. The city’s industries include sugar refineries, knitting mills, and breweries. Trujillo is on the Pan-American Highway and is linked by road to inland communities and nearby beach resorts. The city has an airport and is connected to major agricultural areas and its seaport of Salaverry by rail. Trujillo is the site of the National University of Trujillo (1824) and an archaeological museum. The ruins of Chan Chan, capital of the pre-Inca Chimú empire, are situated 4 miles (6 km) west. Pop. (2005) 276,764.