The Castillo de Chancay is a century-old castle located in Chancay, a seaside pueblo one hour north of Lima. The castle has been renovated as a family tourism attraction.

Most of Lima’s schools take two weeks’ vacation for Peru’s independence day. With all three children running riot in the house, we thought it a good idea to take a little trip. My wife wanted to go inland over the mountains, maybe to Canta or Antioquia, to escape “la gris” and soak up some sun.

But those places don’t seem very good for children. Nothing to do after horseback riding and a hike. That’s when we thought of the old castle up in Chancay.

The castle isn’t strictly a colonial Spanish affair. It incorporates elements from ancient Greece, Rome, medieval England and even India.

I booked a night at their on-site hotel so we wouldn’t be in any rush to get there, do it all and come back to the city in one day.

The price of the hotel included admission — which amounted to two days — as well as the guided tour. The tours begin every 30 minutes from this little chapel.

The first stop on the tours was a republican-style house and furnishings. The guide explained the history of the family who originally built the castle, which was the brainchild of Consuelo Amat y Leon, the granddaughter of former viceroy Manuel de Amat y Junyent.

After viewing the living space is a gallery of photographs, mostly of the family which built the castle. But most interesting to me were pictures of the castle 20 years ago. The Amat family had abandoned the castle, which I assume was due to Peru’s hard economic times and security situation, so they elected to live in San Isidro. The castle was only restored in the last 10 years. In fact they’re still working on it, which you’ll see in some of the pictures.

Then there’s a gallery from the Chancay culture, which was based in Chancay and is best-known for its textiles. The castle gallery has some textiles but mostly ceramic pots as well as a handful of mummies. The Chancay were also known for their little dolls, seen above (those big ones aren’t authentic).

After the Chancay gallery is a salon of stuffed animals, including lions and bears.

Then we were brought through my favorite, a room of Spanish antiques including dozens of furniture items, paintings, mirrors and rugs.

Outside of this hall was our first glimpse over the ocean.

And the tour finished with a sampling of the castle’s own branded pisco and wine. But since we were there on a Tuesday they only had their Borgoña wine, which is too sweet for my taste.

Souvenirs.

This central platform featured performances including songs and dance, swordfighting and this scary magician.

This replica of an old boat serves as a “mirador” over the sea.

And the children had fun playing with the ship’s wheel.

This gargoyle gave the children a fun fright.

There were all kinds of other things for the children. A few animal trainers had eagles, owls and snakes they could take pictures with for 5 soles. There was a full-size throne with regal outfits for pictures, a virtual-reality game, a house of terror. And these elaborate sand castles near the entrance, featuring Pan’s Labyrinth, Shrek and more.

Plenty of restaurants serve traditional Peruvian food. This was the highlight of my eating, the Cordero Chancayano (Chancay-style lamb). Another local specialty was the Pato Embrujado (haunted duck).

We had another meal at one of the restaurants overlooking the coast, which served a nice ceviche and sudado.

The best time to go would be the summer so we could enjoy the big pool and water slide, but it was fun in the winter too.

The hotel bedroom was barebones but the lobby was full of beautiful antiques. In hindsight, you could do the Castillo de Chancay in one day from Lima. But with our three small children, it was nice to have a room we could go take naps and not be hurried to do everything. We were able to see the at night, and have the place all to ourselves in the morning until we wanted to go home.

Location and info

Castillo de Chancay
1 de mayo 1230, Chancay
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone: 445 6031
Castillo de Chancay on Facebook

Castillo de Chancay is located in Chancay an hour north of Lima’s northernmost districts. We took a taxi, but you could save a few bucks by taking a bus.

Pictures

Above is a quick video walking through the castle’s courtyard. Also see a short clip of the magician’s show or a walk-through of the natural history museum.

Click the images below to enlarge. Or for high-res slideshow viewing, see the Castillo de Chancay album on the Lima City of Kings Facebook page.