Stand on the Plaza de Armas and you have the Cathedral of Cajamarca on one side and the low white arcades of the centre on the others, with the green hill of the Viewpoint Santa Apolonia rising behind the rooftops. It is a highland city of churches, colonial streets and hot springs, set in a valley that has been occupied for a very long time.
Cajamarca suits travellers who are already comfortable in the Andes and who prefer archaeology, religious architecture and market towns to polished resort infrastructure. Some of the best sites around the city are reached by colectivo or microbus, and a few have almost no visitor facilities at all.
This guide covers the sights inside the city, the archaeological and natural sites around it, and a one-day plan that links the strongest of them. Practical details such as transport and entry fees are given where the sources provide them.
Top things to do in Cajamarca
1. Ransom Room (Cuarto de Rescate)
The only building left from the Inca empire in the city, this is the room where the Inca Atahualpa was held captive by the Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. It is the single most historically charged stop in Cajamarca, and the reason the city occupies the place it does in the story of the conquest.
It sits in the historic centre, so combine it with the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral of Cajamarca on the same walk rather than making a separate trip.
2. Viewpoint Santa Apolonia (Mirador Apu Rumitiana Santa Apolonia)
From the hill you have a great view over Cajamarca. It also contains a "seat of the Inca" where the Inca emperor supposedly addressed his subjects.
To get to the top of the viewpoint you need to pay an entry fee. Go for the panorama over the city and the valley, and pair it with the Plaza de Armas below.
3. The Inca's Baths (Baños del Inca)
Natural hot springs in the town of Baños del Inca, 5 km east of Cajamarca. This is the classic Cajamarca experience: thermal water in a highland setting, and the source of the name the town carries.
Take a microbus (written Baños on the side) from the start of Avenida Atahulpa for S/2 (as of 2024). Entrance is S/6, swimming S/6, and the swimming pool is closed on Friday. You can also walk here from Ventanillas de Otuzco in about 1½ hours.
4. Ventanillas de Otuzco
A pre-Inca necropolis with touristic infrastructure, an entrance fee (S/5 in February 2017) and information plates in English. It is the most accessible of the carved burial sites around the city.
It is easy to reach by microbus: look for any bus with Otuzco written on the side, which you will find easily by the market. The trip is S/1 each way. Allow around 2 to 3 hours, a little longer if you want to check out the river nearby.
5. Cumbe Mayo
A pre-Columbian aqueduct built around 1000 BCE to bring water from the mountains to the town of Cajamarca during the dry season. It is one of the more unusual archaeological sites in the region, combining engineered channels with a high, exposed landscape.
Tours from Cajamarca are S/18 per person, and food and drinks are readily available at the site. It is possible to walk from Cajamarca but allow around five hours each way for the 20 km trek. The site is at an altitude of around 3,500 m and can be quite cold and wet in the rainy season.
6. Ventanillas de Combayo
A pre-Inca necropolis like Ventanillas de Otuzco but bigger and in much better condition. There is no touristic infrastructure at all and it is seldom visited, which is precisely why it is worth the effort.
Going there by colectivo takes 1 hour more than to Otuzco, and there is no direct combi from Cajamarca: go to Otuzco first and then take another combi in the village, by the school, to Combaya. The route goes through beautiful landscape. Do not touch the stone, as it is not solid, to avoid destroying it the way Otuzco has been damaged during a few years of tourism.
7. Cathedral of Cajamarca (Catedral de Santa Catalina)
This Catholic cathedral was built in the Baroque style, and construction began in the 17th century. It is located on the main square, the Plaza de Armas, which makes it the natural first stop of any walk through the centre.
Visit it as part of a circuit of the Plaza de Armas together with the Ransom Room and the Church San Francisco de Asis.
8. Church San Francisco de Asis
The construction of this Catholic church began in 1699, and the initial architect was Matías Pérez Palomino. It is named after Francis of Assisi, and it is one of the examples of Spanish colonial religious architecture for which the city is known.
Combine it with the Museum San Francisco, which is the museum of the same church, so you can see the building and its collection in one stop.
9. Museum San Francisco (Museo San Francisco)
The museum of the church of San Francisco. It is the obvious companion to the church itself and adds context to the colonial religious architecture of the centre.
Pair it directly with your visit to the Church San Francisco de Asis rather than treating it as a separate outing.
10. Museum Belen (Museo Arqueológico y Etnográfico del Conjunto Monumental Belén)
An archaeological and ethnographic museum in the historical building of Belén. It covers both the archaeology and the ethnography of the region, which makes it a useful grounding before you head out to the pre-Inca sites.
It is in the historic centre, so it fits easily into the same day as the Plaza de Armas and the churches.
11. Church La Recoleta (Iglesia y Convento de La Recoleta)
A church and convent in the city, and another piece of the colonial religious architecture that gives Cajamarca's centre its character.
Add it to your walking route through the centre alongside the other churches and museums.
12. Llacanora
A picturesque town with waterfalls. The falls are a few kilometers from town but a fairly easy walk, and there is also a farm with a lake and gardens nearby.
This works well as a half-day out of the city, combining the walk to the falls with the farm and gardens.
13. Kuntur Wasi
Quechua for "House of the Condor", this site is 93 km north east of Cajamarca near the town of San Pablo. It features monolithic statues and a museum with ceramics, semi-precious stones and gold objects.
Tours from Cajamarca are S/100, but if you can make it there on your own the entry fee is S/4.50. It is a long day out, so plan it as a full-day trip rather than an add-on.
14. Catarata de Plan Manzanas
A nice waterfall about 9 km away, set in very beautiful countryside in a traditional Peruvian farming community. The trail takes you over the top of the falls.
Take a microbus (19 or 59A, S/1 each way, leaving about every 30 minutes until about 21:00) to Huambocancha Alta and get off at Plan Manzanas on the road or carretera Bambamarca. You will need to ask the locals for directions, as it is not a particularly well known attraction; do not give up just because the first person you ask does not know about it. Locals may take you to the waterfall and give you directions for an alternate route back to the road for a small fee (S/5-10). It is about a 30-minute walk each way from the road, and the bus trip is also around 30 minutes each way, so allow 3 to 4 hours.
15. Granja Porcón
An Evangelical farming colony with tourist services and a zoo. It is a different kind of stop from the archaeological sites, and a look at rural life and farming in the highlands.
It pairs naturally with a day in the countryside rather than with the city-centre sights.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start on the Plaza de Armas, where you can see the Cathedral of Cajamarca and the Church San Francisco de Asis, then visit the Museum San Francisco attached to the church. Walk to the Ransom Room (Cuarto de Rescate), the only building left from the Inca empire in the city, and finish the morning at the Museum Belen.
Afternoon: Climb to the Viewpoint Santa Apolonia for the view over Cajamarca and the "seat of the Inca", paying the entry fee at the top. If time allows, add the Church La Recoleta on your way back through the centre.
Evening: Take a microbus (written Baños on the side) from the start of Avenida Atahulpa to The Inca's Baths (Baños del Inca) for the natural hot springs. Note that the swimming pool is closed on Friday, so check the day before you commit to this as your evening plan.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to The Inca's Baths without a tour?
Take a microbus written Baños on the side from the start of Avenida Atahulpa. The fare is S/2 as of 2024. Entrance is S/6 and swimming is S/6, and the swimming pool is closed on Friday.
Which pre-Inca necropolis should I choose, Otuzco or Combayo?
Ventanillas de Combayo is bigger and in much better condition than Ventanillas de Otuzco, but has no touristic infrastructure at all and is seldom visited. Otuzco has touristic infrastructure, an entrance fee and information plates in English, and is easy to reach by microbus from the market. Combayo takes an hour longer by colectivo and requires changing combis at Otuzco, by the school.
What should I know before visiting Cumbe Mayo?
Tours from Cajamarca are S/18 per person, and food and drinks are readily available at the site. It is possible to walk from Cajamarca but allow around five hours each way for the 20 km trek. The site is at an altitude of around 3,500 m and can be quite cold and wet in the rainy season.
When is the Carnaval de Cajamarca held, and what happens?
It is held every year in February or March. The three most important days include the day of water and paint, when participants cover themselves and each other in paint while onlookers throw water at them. The following two days are parade days, the first going through the Plaza de Armas and the latter sticking to the concourse with floats and the queens of carnaval; tickets for seats on the concourse range from around S/15 to S/30. Be prepared to get wet on all occasions from water bombs and kids' water pistols.
Decide how many days you can give to the city and the sites around it, then start planning your route from the Plaza de Armas outwards.