Many call Zaña, like the ghost town. But although it has a lot of people who live there, a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas are the ruins of the ancient city.
The "ghost town" dates from 1720. Today is a town where around 1,000 people, located 40 miles south of Chiclayo. In the seventeenth century, however, Zaña was the most important city on the north coast, even ahead of Trujillo.
It was not just a center for trade, but also for agriculture, and large numbers of African slaves were brought to the basin of the river to work the land. Zaña had estates, mansions, churches and huge to rival anything in Lima.
