Chiclayo is the principal city and capital of the Lambayeque region and Chiclayo Province in northern Peru. It is located 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) from the Pacific coast, 208 kilometers from the city of Trujillo and 770 kilometers (480 m) from the country's capital, Lima. It was founded under the name of "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclayo". The city was originally founded by Spanish explorers as "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclayo" in the 16th century, acting as a small town of passage and rest of travelers. It was declared an official city on 15 April 1835 by president Felipe Santiago Salaverry. He named Chiclayo "the Heroic City" to recognize the courage of its citizens in the fight for independence, a title it still holds. Other nicknames for Chiclayo include "The Capital of Friendship" and the "Pearl of the North", due to its kind and friendly nature of its people. Chiclayo is Peru's fourth-largest city, after Lima, Arequipa, and Trujillo, with a population of 738,000 as of 2011 The Lambayeque region is the fourth most populous metropolitan area of Peru, with a population of 972,713 in 2009. The city is divided into three urban districts, Chiclayo, La Victoria, and José Leonardo Ortiz. The Chiclayo metropolitan area comprises 12 districts. It is the second most populous city in Northern Peru, after its city rival, Trujillo. The city was founded near an important prehistoric archaeological site, the Northern Wari ruins, which constitute the remains of a city from the 7th to 12th century of the Wari Empire. The city was also once part of the Moche culture, which dominated Northern Peru 100 to 700 AD. The Lord of Sipán was the ruler of the Moche and the Sipán mummies are the most popular tourist attraction of city of Lambayeque and Chiclayo, with most tourists arriving from Chiclayo. The Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque houses thousands of Moche artifacts.
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