City & Ransom Room Tour
Atahualpa's ransom room and the colonial centre.
Overview
Why visit Cajamarca
Cajamarca is where the Inca Empire ended. In 1532, conquistadors captured Atahualpa here in an ambush in the main square; the emperor offered to fill his room with gold for his freedom, and the Ransom Room still stands beside the plaza.
The highland city (2,750m) keeps a beautiful colonial centre of Baroque churches and carved stone, but the bigger draw is the country around it. The Baños del Inca thermal baths still flow where the Inca once soaked, and the ancient canals and stone forest of Cumbemayo crown the hills outside town.
Cajamarca hosts Peru's rowdiest Carnival — weeks of water fights, music and parades each February. The surrounding countryside holds the Otuzco cliff tombs, the hilltop church of Santa Apolonia with its city view, and farms making the region's famous cheeses.
Things to do
Top things to book in Cajamarca
Popular tours and tickets. Compare prices and book ahead to skip the lines.
Baños del Inca
Soak in the emperor's thermal baths.
Cumbemayo Day Trip
Stone forest, ancient canals and valley views.
Otuzco & Countryside
Cliff tombs, farms and Santa Apolonia viewpoint.
Plan your trip
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Fun facts
Things you didn't know about Cajamarca
- 01
Where The Empire Fell
The capture of Inca emperor Atahualpa in 1532 in Cajamarca's plaza opened the conquest of the Inca Empire.
- 02
The Ransom Room
Atahualpa offered to fill a room once with gold and twice with silver — the room still stands.
- 03
The Inca Baths
The Baños del Inca hot springs still flow where the emperor bathed before his capture.
- 04
Peru'S Carnival Capital
Cajamarca's February Carnival is considered the country's biggest and wildest.
- 05
A Stone Forest
Cumbemayo's wind-carved volcanic towers hide an aqueduct carved before the Incas.
- 06
Cliff Tombs
The necropolis of Otuzco packs hundreds of burial niches into a rock face.
- 07
Cheese Country
The green valleys around town produce some of Peru's most famous cheeses.
- 08
An Old Belvedere
Santa Apolonia hill, with a white chapel and Inca-carved seats, watches over the city.
- 09
Poc Of The Poor
Traditional ponchos from Cajamarca's villages became the Andean icon.
- 10
A Square Built For History
The Plaza de Armas marks where conquistadors staged the ambush of 1532.
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FAQ
Quick answers about Cajamarca
Where is Cajamarca located?
Cajamarca is in Peru, in South America.
What is the population of Cajamarca?
The greater Cajamarca area is home to about 300,000 people.
What is Cajamarca famous for?
The 'Cusco of the North' guards the room where the last Inca emperor was held for ransom, ringed by pre-Inca ruins, thermal baths and one of South America's wildest Carnivals.
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