Cajamarca

Here at 2750 m altitude, we enter the heart of Peruvian history. This is the place where Spanish conquistador Pizzaro defeated and captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa, tricked him of a huge ransom of hundreds of tons of gold and silver, and then executed him anyway. (More details can be found in e.g. wikipedia at "Cajamarca", or "ransom chamber"). Mining for gold and other heavy metals is still one of the area's main sources of revenue.

Cajamarca (Kashamarka in quechua language), was populated for more than 2000 years before it was conquered by the Incas in 1463 and added to the Inca empire. The hold of the Incas on this region seems to have been a bit weak, something the Spaniards were well informed of.

We spend our first afternoon visiting the ransom chamber, a remarkable Inca building, in which Atahualpa was confined and the ransom delivered. With the same ticket we visit the church of Belén (Nuestra Señora de la Piedad) and a nice museum set up inside the old Spanish hospital, with pre-Inca artefacts. We discover a great mural fresco in town relating the prehispanic history!

We also organise an English-speaking guide for tomorrow's visit of a fabulous site in the mountains...Read more