Experience the best of Cajamarca

Cajamarca stands at about 2,750 metres in a green valley of the northern Peruvian Andes. It is the place where the Inca emperor Atahualpa met Francisco Pizarro and was taken prisoner in 1532, and the stone chamber called the Ransom Room is linked to that story. The Plaza de Armas is lined with a cathedral and the carved stone fronts of colonial churches, and the Belén complex holds a museum.

Hot springs at Baños del Inca, a few kilometres from town, are said to have been used by Atahualpa. Cumbemayo, higher in the hills, has a channel carved in rock by pre-Inca engineers, and a forest of stone outcrops. The Ventanillas de Otuzco are rows of burial niches cut into a hillside, and the Santa Apolonia hill gives a view over the city.

Cajamarca is dairy country, and its cheese and manjar blanco, a sweet milk caramel, are known across Peru. Guinea pig, humitas and corn-based dishes are common in local restaurants. February Carnival is the city's biggest celebration, while the dry months from May to September bring warm days and clear skies.