Cajamarca Dairy Tasting

What the valley sells is specific. Queso mantecoso is the one the region is known for nationally: soft, pale and buttery enough to spread, sold by the kilo and cut from the block in front of you. Quesillo is the fresh curd, eaten with dark cane syrup poured over it as the standard dessert here. Manjarblanco is milk and sugar cooked down slowly until thick and caramelised, sold in tubs and jars, folded into pastries, and given as the usual souvenir from a trip. Butter and yoghurt from the same herds are sold alongside.

The market stalls and shops are the real thing rather than a demonstration: refrigerated cases stacked with rounds of cheese, handwritten price lists, and people buying their week's supply next to you. Stallholders will generally give you a taste before you buy, which is how this is meant to work.

An hour, year-round, in the city centre at 2,750 metres. Mornings are when the markets are fullest and the fresh cheese is best. Bring small notes, because the markets are cash-first, and if you intend to take manjarblanco home, buy it sealed in a jar rather than from an open tub.