Baños del Inca

This is where Atahualpa was camped in November 1532, resting his army after the civil war that had just won him the empire, when word reached him that strangers had landed on the coast. He was at these springs when Pizarro's party arrived in Cajamarca, and he rode into the city from here to meet them. The geothermal source feeding the pools today is the same one.

What is on the site now is a working municipal bath complex rather than a ruin: open-air pools, private tubs you can hire by the half hour, and gardens laid out around them, with steam coming off the water in the early morning when the air is cold. It is used by people from the town as much as by visitors, which is most of its character. There are remains of the Inca-era structures on the grounds, but the reason to come is the water.

Allow two to three hours if you actually get in, which you should. It is a short combi or taxi ride from the centre and runs year-round; the altitude here is 2,667 metres, slightly below the city. Bring a towel and something to change into, since hire is not always available. Early morning and late afternoon are when the temperature difference between air and water is most pronounced, and when the pools are least crowded.