Piura is a small city in Peru’s northern Sechura Desert. This area has a dry climate and year-round heat. In Peruvian culture Piura is best known for its native son Mario Vargas Llosa, an author who used Piura a setting for some of his novels. In the local shops you can buy locally made silver filigree. Northern Peru has silver mines, and native craftsmen use this precious metal to make delicate, ornamental pieces.

Slightly outside of town you can see Huaca Narihualá, which is a temple the Tallán people left behind. Historians have determined that these indigenous people had a matriarchal society. There is a museum on this archeological site with artifacts that are thousands of years old.