Cajamarca's Colonial Centre

Cajamarca sits in a green bowl in the northern highlands, and its centre is built from a pale volcanic stone that carves easily, which is why the doorways and church facades here are so deeply worked. The cathedral on the Plaza de Armas was never given its bell towers and stops abruptly above the carved front. The best of it is the Belén complex, a baroque church with a painted vault beside the old men's and women's hospitals, now museums. Above the town a long stairway climbs Santa Apolonia hill for the standard view. One small stone chamber near the square, the Cuarto del Rescate, is the only Inca structure left standing in the city.

What you actually see

• Conjunto Belén - the baroque church and the old hospital buildings beside it.
• The cathedral - a deeply carved stone facade left without its towers.
• Santa Apolonia hill - a stepped climb to the viewpoint over the valley.
• Cuarto del Rescate - the one surviving Inca stone room in the town.

When to go

May to September is the dry half of the year and the reliable choice. February brings what is generally reckoned Peru's biggest carnival, nine days of parades, water and paint, when every bed in town is taken and prices double. Church and museum hours are short and often break for lunch, so plan the Belén complex for the morning.

Honest expectations

The town is at 2,750 metres and the nights are cold in a place where heating is uncommon. Carnival week means being soaked with water, foam and dye whether you want it or not, and there is no opting out on the street. The Cuarto del Rescate is one small empty room and disappoints. The approach roads carry heavy freight traffic and the bus from the coast is long.

Nearby

The Cumbemayo canal, the Otuzco burial niches and the dairy valleys ring the town.