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Cajamarca
The department of Cajamarca is characterized by slight slopes and highlands relatively low in comparison to the rest of the Peruvian Andes. The territory is made up of numerous valleys and gorges.
The city of Cajamarca brings together three ingredients that make it an unforgettable destination: a magnificent Colonial architecture, beautiful countryside, and a rich history since it was the scene of an important episode of South American history. Here, the Conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca Atahualpa who, in spite of fulfilling his part of the ransom, was killed. From that point onward, the conquistadors drafted the city in the traditional Spanish way, and today the Colonial constructions of the Cathedral, the churches of San Francisco, Belen, and la Recoleta, mansions, and monuments are preserved.
There are many excursion possibilities: the Inca Baths, thermo-medicinal hot springs where the Inca used to go after long trips, the Ventanillas de Otuzco (Otuzco Windows), a cemetery carved into a wall of volcanic rock, Cumbemayo, a demonstration of pre-Incan hydraulic engineering still functioning today, that is located in a wonderful natural area, the old hacienda La Colpa, where the cattle go to be milked at the sound of their name, Kuntur Wasi, a commercial center that dates to the year 1100 b.C. and its site museum with the numerous examples of the oldest objects of gold in the Americas, the Porcón farm, an agricultural and cattle cooperative surrounded by a pine forest, ideal for spending a day out of the city, visiting its small zoo of vicuñas, deer, little spotted cats, monkeys, and eagles, buying its milk products, or simply enjoying the landscape.
Ventanillas de Otuzco.
Cajamarca sums up in its architecture the encounter between two cultures: Inca and Spain. Archaeological remains in the area, however, tell of yet more ancient times, dating back to the Caxamarca culture (up to 1450 AD), with aqueducts and enigmatic cave paintings going back even further.
Just 8 km from the city, in the district of Los Baños del Inca, the Ventanillas de Otuzco stand out amidst the countryside. The site is a pre-Inca cemetery which pre-dates the Caxamarca culture, probably influenced by the Wari empire. Hundreds of galleries and individual niches resembling windows were hewn into the volcanic stone. The niches are 8-10 meters deep, 50-60 cm high and are rectangular or quadrangular shaped. The niches probably were originally sealed with gravestones carved with figures in haut-relief, judging by fragments found nearby.
Legend has it that the Incas cleared out the niches and used them as grain storerooms ("collca" in Quechua), redirecting their entrances towards the wind to keep them cool. The niches lead into a network of dark and mysterious galleries which appear to have no end, giving rise to myths of secret tunnels that linked Cajamarca to Cuzco.
Cutervo National Park
260 km / 162 miles north of Cajamarca (14 hours and 30 minutes by car).
Its purpose is to protect and preserve the flora and fauna characteristic to the Tarros mountain range. The area is a refuge for jaguars, little spotted cats, spectacled bears, nutrias, and others. One of the main attractions is the oilbird, which is nocturnal and lives in the GuacharosCaves. The exotic places to see are the vista of the grasslands and the dwarf and mist forests.
Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary
110 km / 68 miles north of the locality of Jaen (7 hours by car).
This protected area of 29.500 hectares contains a mist forest with all its native flora and fauna, thirty-three bird species, and seventeen mammal species (among the highlighted ones are the spectacled bear, the mountain tapir, monkeys, little spotted cats, and deer).
Kuntur Wasi Ceremonial Center
93 km / 58 miles northeast of Cajamarca (3 hours by car).
This pre-Hispanic ceremonial center, which is estimated to have been built around 1100 B.C., is raised upon a series of platforms and superimposed plazas with various other buildings and rooms held up by massive stone walls.
Studies have discovered different epochs of occupation. Around 700 B.C., there was a great cultural change and the entire structure was covered with dirt and stones by its own inhabitants so they could build a new, larger ceremonial center. Towards 250 B.C., the center suffered substantial destruction, and the site was abandoned. The society moved to the hill, Cerro Blanco, where a variety of Wari constructions from this time still remain. After the destruction, Kuntur Wasi was never used again.
The archeological mission of the University of Tokyo and local community groups began studying the cultural tradition reflected in Kuntur Wasi in 1988. Among the most important discoveries are the dead buried there, bodies clothed in bright red and surrounded by offerings and other objects.
Kuntur Wasi Site Museum
3 km / 1,8 miles from the city of San Pablo (7 minutes by car).
There are permanent exhibitions of the different objects found in the excavations of Kuntur Wasi: gold, semi-precious stones, ceramics, stone utensils, and bones. In addition, you can view maps, plans, and pictures of the research work done by the University of Tokyo. It is located at the top of the hill, La Copa, 2273 masl / 7457 fasl.
Source Promperu
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