Cajamarca, Cajamarca, Peru: The site of the Incas last stand, is a larger version of Chachapoyas. 

 

The two towns look very similar: Pizarro definitely left his mark. 

 

Cajamarca is another beautiful mountain town, but because it’s more easily accessible by road, and has an airport, it is at least twice the size of Chachapoyas.

 

After the Spanish captured Cusco, Atahualpa retreated to Cajamarca. It was then that his location was given up by the Chachapoyas. Atahualpa was held in the Cuarto del Rescate (The Ransom Room) and then executed as an example to others who might incite insurrection against the Spanish.

  

I took a day trip to one of the local archeological sites: Cumbe Mayo. 

  
 

Cumbe Mayo (Thin River) runs through a beautiful valley that was formed by volcanic activity there is an aqueduct dated 3000 years old. 

  

The rock formations are similar to some found in the Bolivian altiplano. 

         

    

          

It is decorated with pre-Colombian hieroglyphics from a culture long since extinct. Although a few of the images are similar to figures that show up later cultures, their meanings are unknown.

Parts of the aqueduct have been carved to redirect the flow of the water. 

       

Other parts have been carved more naturally into the rock. 

  

Cajamarca is a beautiful city to walk around. The only thing I’d hold against it is the lackluster food.