Cajamarca
The City Where The Last Inca Emperor Atahualpa Was Captured By Pizarro In 1532, With The Ransom Room, The Banos Del Inca Hot Springs And A Colonial Centre Of Carved Stone Churches. Known For Dairy Cheese, Carnival In February And The Cumbemayo Aqueduct Nearby. · Cajamarca, Cajamarca
Cajamarca is a highland city at about 2,750 m in the northern Andes, and the place where Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, was captured by Pizarro in 1532. The centre is a compact grid of stone churches around the Plaza de Armas, with a carved cathedral that never got its second tower, the San Francisco church with its catacombs, and the Cuarto del Rescate, the Ransom Room. Just outside lie the Banos del Inca hot springs, the Cumbemayo aqueduct cut into volcanic rock and the burial niches of Ventanillas de Otuzco. The city is known for cheese, manjar blanco and local coffee, and for a wild water-throwing carnival in February. It is also surrounded by the Yanacocha gold mine, which brings jobs and protests. It is calm, friendly and cool, and easy to see in two or three days. Pack warm layers, since nights are cold, and expect an unhurried, small-city pace where most sights are close together and the best day trips need a morning and a local guide or driver. Confirm church hours on arrival.
Highland colonial city at about 2,750 m in the northern Andes, with the Plaza de Armas, the Inca baths at Banos del Inca and the Ransom Room, Cajamarca, Cajamarca, Peru
The plaza and streets are open all day and free. Churches and museums keep short morning and afternoon hours and often close on Mondays or at midday, so confirm before you go. The Ransom Room and the baths charge a fee, and tour sites such as Cumbemayo are usually visited in the morning. Entry to the streets is FREE.