Plaza de Armas
In 1699 this place was denominated Plaza Mayor, and since that day parades began, and all the corresponding civic celebrations. This Plaza was rebuilt two times, the first time in 1932 and the second in 1945, if you are visiting Cajamarca you will see the actual Plaza Mayor of Cajamarca and the fountain is the only thing that still since this was established in 1699.
This is considered the most important square not only in Peru but throughout South America. This Plaza Mayor is historic for the world, in this place the Tahuantinsuyo empire down and the Spanish troops captured the Inca Atahualpa in 1532.
Near to here, there are many restaurants, hotels, and markets where you can buy traditional food and artisans, but if you want more things for you or your family, you can visit Tinkuy, a Peruvian online shop, in here you will find clothes, handicrafts, accessories, home decor and more.
Ventanillas de Otuzco
This archeological site was considered a cemetery for all who were part of Cajamarca culture (200 b.C. – 800 a.C.).
This place is conformed of many groups of funeral buildings that have an as main characteristics, openings that look a lot like windows. This building was built on a large rock that some people say belonged to a volcano. The windows don’t have a unique size, some of them have 50 or 60 cm.
This funeral ritual consisted of burying the bodies in the ground, while some bones and skulls were placed in the open cubes (windows). No complete bodies have been found, which is why these funeral windows were made for a second burial.
This site is also a symbol of the society of Cajamarca.
This a great place to visit, is not too far from the city and it’s very cheap, the entrance ticket costs less than $2.
The Inca baths
A destination near to the city is the Inca Baths. These thermals are historic; in here the Incas took and enjoyed their baths.
This place is very complete, here you’ll find hotels, restaurants and it’s surrounded by beautiful nature, trees and flowers decorate the spaces in this enclosure.
If you want to enjoy a bath in these relaxing pools, you should visit it in the morning because at this time the water is hot, in the afternoon the water also remains warm. But you have to know that the temperature is around 158 °F(70 ºC), so be careful if you are not a big fan of hot water. Another option is going to the baths in the night, the water is getting colder, so keeping in mind.
This is a mythical site, there are pools and fountains since the Inca period, but also there is more thermals water that was built recently, these are more comfortable for the visitors because they were made with all the requests that the customers wanted.
The rescue room
This place is iconic in Peruvian history. The history says that the Inca Atahualpa was taking a bath when the Spanish troop, with Francisco Pizarro in the lead, captured him.
From that day; November 16, 1532, to July 26, 1533; the Inca Atahualpa was a prisoner in this room.
The reason for his death sentence was because, on one occasion, Atahualpa threw the bible on the ground because he would never see it before; the Spanish took this as an offense to their beliefs, the Catholic religion. What they didn’t know was that the Incas had other gods, such as the Sun-god (Inti), the earth (Pachamama), etc, this didn’t matter, he was sentenced to death on the gallows anyway.
Afraid of this, the Inca offered them a room full of gold, he knew how the Spanish loved gold and this also was an offer to save his life.
He kept his promise but the Spanish troops don’t, they accepted the rooms but they killed him anyway.
This is regarded as the highest ransom ever paid in the history of humanity.
This is a good option if you want to learn more about Peruvian history or if you only want to visit a historic place. The entrance ticket is very cheap, it costs less than $2.
Cumbemayo
This is a touristic complex, a wonder of Mother Nature. This place is famous for the human figure it has. People say these figures represent monks. If you’re far away you’ll see them on the rocks with their hoods.
The archaeological site was found in 1937 and is surrounded by magical formations but these rocks are not common, these are huge rocks in human form.
Cumbemayo is also a water channel, its name is from Quechua “KumpiMayu”, which means a great built of the water channel. For some people this is not a simple river, this has a magical function for traditional people who lived in Cajamarca (1000 b.c.).
This complex is divided into three archaeological groups: The aqueduct, the sanctuary, and the caves.
If you love to do trekking, Cumbemayo is the best place to do it. We recommend you hire a tourist service because this complex is a bit far from the city.
The tour consists of a walk through the entire complex, the grotto, the tunnel and a path in the wood of rocks. During your visit you can have a picnic; this is the best way to spend your day in Cumbemayo.
Santa Apolonia Lookout
It’s located in the east of the valley and the city of Cajamarca. Years before, this mountain was called Rumi Tiana, this is a Quechua word that means “stone seat”.
In this place, you will see the whole valley of Cajamarca.
