The Historic Centre of Cajamarca

Unesco's description for Cajamarca refers to Spanish-Andean culture and architectural styles spanning the 16th to 19th centuries without specifically mentioning any specific places. It then goes on to list several unrelated pre-Columbian temples and some hot springs scattered about outside of town that don't really fit into the title of the proposed site.  

Unfortunately we only had half a day to visit Cajamarca and I was feeling particularly unwell so we limited ourselves to the small historic centre. Without the energy to truly appreciate what we were seeing I can say that although it is small, we quite liked Cajamarca and found it to be architecturally unique from the other colonial Spanish centres in Peru and not just a smaller copy of the same stuff. There are 2 churches on the Plaza de Armas, both with nice detailed facades which reminded me of the facade of the Basilica de San Francisco in La Paz.

In addition to the rich pre-Columbian cultural history in the surrounding valley (as is so common throughout Peru), Cajamarca is most famous as the site of the Spanish capture and execution of the last Incan emperor, Atahualpa. The only remaining Incan site in town is a small room that was supposedly the place where Atahualpa was held and offered his famous ransom of gold and silver. There isn't much to see other than a small room, but the cheap (5 soles) tourist entry ticket includes entry to the nearby Belen church and small ethnographic …