What to Do in Cajamarca

Pre-Inca aqueducts, cliffside necropolises, Inca thermal springs, and the loudest carnival in Peru, all within reach of the city.

Each guide covers how to get there, how long to allow, and the best time of year to visit.

What to do within Cajamarca city limits

Or within a 30 minute ride by taxi.

The Ransom Room under its protective roof, a single stone chamber with a doorway at the top of worn steps

Cuarto del Rescate

The Ransom Room

The Ransom Room, the only standing Inca structure in Cajamarca, where Atahualpa was held in 1532.

1 hour Year-round
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Carnival dancers in beaded masks and headdresses of orange and green feathers, close together in a parade
Seasonal

Carnaval de Cajamarca

Cajamarca Carnival

Peru's most famous carnival: a week of parades, water fights, and unsha dancing each February.

Multi-day February (seasonal)
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The carved baroque front of Cajamarca cathedral against a pink and grey sky at dusk

Plaza de Armas y Catedral

Main Square and Cathedral

The colonial heart of the city, where the baroque cathedral faces the main square.

1 hour Year-round
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Cajamarca lit up at dusk seen from Santa Apolonia, the hilltop cross in the foreground

Cerro Santa Apolonia

Santa Apolonia Hill

Stone stairways climb to the carved Inca Seat and a panoramic view over the whole city.

1 hour Year-round
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The Belén church front floodlit at night, its carved niches and figures picked out against the dark

Conjunto Monumental Belén

Belén Monumental Complex

A colonial church and former hospital complex housing the archaeological and ethnographic museum.

1-2 hours Year-round
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A cook serving from wide metal bowls of fried pork and mote at a Cajamarca market stall, customers waiting at the counter

Cajamarca Dairy Tasting

Traditional shops and central markets where the valley sells its cheeses and manjarblanco.

1 hour Year-round
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The avenue of carved Inca ruler statues on their plinths, climbing a stepped promenade

Alameda de los Incas

Promenade of the Incas

A free open-air promenade lined with giant statues of the fourteen Inca rulers.

1 hour Year-round
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The twin bell towers and white stone front of La Recoleta behind its railings on a clear day

Iglesia y Convento de La Recoleta

La Recoleta Church and Convent

A neoclassical stone church a few blocks off the main square, quieter than the central temples.

1 hour Year-round
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Beyond the city

The rest of it is a short ride out

The aqueduct, the necropolis and the lagoons are all within a half-day of the Plaza de Armas. Allow a full day for Cumbemayo.

What to do in the Cajamarca region

Outside the city limits.

Two women in wide white hats sitting on the grass beside the open stone water channel at Cumbemayo

Cumbemayo

Pre-Inca aqueduct and volcanic rock forest carved into the highlands above Cajamarca.

4-5 hours May to October
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Rows of square burial niches cut into the volcanic cliff face at Otuzco, with farmland in the valley below

Ventanillas de Otuzco

Otuzco Funerary Windows

A pre-Inca necropolis of window-like burial niches cut into a volcanic rock face.

2-3 hours May to October
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The thermal pools at Baños del Inca at sunset, steam lifting off water that mirrors a gold and blue sky

Baños del Inca

The Inca Baths

Natural thermal springs used by Inca rulers, still fed by the same geothermal source today.

2-3 hours Year-round
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The long open-sided milking shed at La Colpa, its tiled roof carried on a row of wooden posts

Hacienda La Colpa

La Colpa Ranch

A working cattle estate known for calling its dairy cows in from the field by name.

3-4 hours Year-round
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Vicunas grazing on a slope above the red roofs of the Porcón cooperative

Granja Porcón

Porcón Farm

A cooperative farm in pine forest, with highland wildlife, walking trails, and stone-carving workshops.

5-6 hours May to October
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Laguna San Nicolás under a pale sky, dry hills running down to the far shore

Laguna San Nicolás y Talleres de Namora

San Nicolás Lake and Namora Workshops

Reed boats on a highland lake, paired with the guitar-making workshops in the village of Namora.

4-5 hours May to October
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The courtyard at Polloc, every wall, column and arch covered in coloured mosaic tile

Santuario de Polloc

Polloc Sanctuary

A rural church in La Encanada covered inside and out in millions of coloured mosaic tiles.

3-4 hours Year-round
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Two small lagoons lying in dark open moorland at Alto Perú, under a high clear sky

Lagunas de Alto Perú

Alto Perú Lagoons

A high-Andean wetland of hundreds of clear lagoons and springs, for trekking and ecotourism.

Full day May to October
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A visitor with arms outstretched beside a carved monolith at Cuntur Wasi, the valley falling away behind

Cuntur Wasi

House of the Condor

A pre-Inca ceremonial centre about two hours out, known for the gold found in its tombs.

Full day May to October
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