We caught the bus on the corner by our hotel cost, about 50 cents, asked the bus driver to drop us off at Chan Chan. He dropped us off there all right, but at the ruins that are currently off limits because they are still being excavated. We walked over a mile in, one of the excavators took pity on us and let us cut through to Nik-An. So we were able to get an idea of what they do. Nik-An is actually the eight palace to be built. There were nine palaces in all. It's believed that the palaces were only used for ceremonies and burial of the king. Once the king died he was buried and his wives and concubines were also buried. The King of Chan Chan had 44 women buried in surrounding sites. The tomb of the king was left open and his mummified body was paraded around for ceremonies after his death. His successor then started a new palace/tomb and so forth.
Technically the palace we visited was called Nik-An. There are lumps of unexcavated ruins all over the place.
The Moche left the area way before the Spanish showed up. Probably had water issues. The Spanish found Nik-An wide open and stripped it of all the gold and precious items.
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