1. The Program

Cajamarca

Located in the north Anderan area of Peru, Cajamarca is a historical region with a very vast geography. Its exceptional climate and its famous hot springs make this city the perfect tourist spot.

Cajamarca is characterized by smooth slopes and a relatively low height compared to the rest of Peruvian Andes. The region is formed by many valleys and ravines.

The city of Cajamarca has three ingredients that make it an unforgettable destination: a superb colonial architecture, beautiful landscape, and a rich history since it was the scene of an event of great significance in the history of the continent. Here is where conqueror Francisco Pizarro captured Inca Atahualpa, who was murdered despite having paid the agreed ransom. Thereafter, the conquerors designed the city using their Spanish style, and today you can still see colonial building, such as The Cathedral, the churches of San Francisco, Belén, and Recoleta, as well as manor houses and monuments.

A number of different tour can be done: the Bath of the Inca, hot springs with medical water where the Inca used to go after long trips; the Ventanillas de Otuzco, a cementary carved into a volcanic stone wall; Cumbemayo, a hydraulic engineering  work form pre Inca times still in operation, located in an amazing natural environment; La Colpa, an old ranch where cows come to be milked when called by their names; Kuntur Wasi, a ceremonial center that dates from 1100 BC, and in its site museum where you can see many objects all worked in America's oldest gold; and, the Porcón Farm, an agricultural and cattle raising cooperative surropunded by a huge forest of pines, an ideal place for having picnic, visit the small zoo and see its vicuñas, deer, little spotted cats, monkeys, and eagles, and buy its dairy products.

Today Cajamarca is the most important city in the Peruvian northern mountain range area. It is experiencing a period  of economic growth thanks to the development of the auriferous mining, its traditional cattle raising, and, very recently, tourism.