About This Guide

An independent guide to Cajamarca, Peru: what to see, when to come, and how to get around.

About Cajamarca.com

A Valley Off the Circuit

Cajamarca.com is an independent travel guide to the Cajamarca valley. It is not a tour operator, and not affiliated with any hotel, agency, or booking platform.

Most visitors to Peru follow the southern circuit: Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu. Cajamarca sits well north of it, which is why a city with a pre-Inca aqueduct, a cliffside necropolis, Inca thermal springs, and the country's largest carnival still sees a fraction of the traffic.

What to Do
The frailones, the standing stones of the Cumbemayo rock forest above CajamarcaThe thermal pools at Banos del Inca, fed by the springs Atahualpa bathed inThe cathedral on the Plaza de Armas in Cajamarca at duskThe statues of the Inca rulers along the Alameda de los Incas in CajamarcaThe mosaic courtyard at the Santuario de Polloc, every surface tiled in broken ceramicA carved monolith at Cuntur Wasi, the valley opening out behind it

Three Thousand Years in One Valley, and Room to Breathe

Cajamarca holds pre-Inca engineering, the single most consequential day in the Spanish conquest, and a working dairy country, all within a short ride of one square. This guide covers the things a first visit actually turns on.

  • Which sites are worth a half-day, and which are an hour
  • What the May-to-October dry season really means at 2,750 metres
  • How to get here from Lima, Trujillo or Chiclayo
  • What the valley is known for at the table

Independent: no commissions, no sponsored placements, no affiliation with the sites or businesses covered here.

Discover Cajamarca

Endless history, highland quiet

Stone aqueducts cut three thousand years ago, a necropolis in a cliff face, and hot springs still running at the temperature the Inca found them.

Explore the Valley
The burial niches at Ventanillas de Otuzco, close in on the cut stoneThe channel of the Cumbemayo aqueduct, cut into rock three thousand years agoDancers in the street during the Cajamarca carnival parade

Unhurried

A city of 250,000 with five major sites around it. Nothing here needs to be booked six months out.

Unspoiled

A fraction of the southern circuit’s traffic, on a valley floor at 2,750 metres.

Why Cajamarca.com

A Guide Built for the First Visit

Every page here answers the questions a first trip actually raises, in the order they come up.

  • Independent

    No commissions, no sponsored placements, no affiliation with the sites or businesses covered here.

  • Practical First

    Every landmark guide states how long to allow, the best months to go, and the elevation you will be at.

  • Three Eras in One Valley

    Pre-Inca engineering, the 1532 conquest, and colonial Cajamarca are all within a short ride of the main square.

  • Seasonal Notes

    Carnival in February and the May-to-October dry season change what a trip here looks like. Both are flagged throughout.

Start With the Sites

Five guides covering the aqueduct, the necropolis, the Ransom Room, the thermal baths, and carnival.

What to DoGetting Here