Peru

The Historic Centre of Cajamarca

WHS Score 0.59
rate
Votes 4 Average 0.75
Show votes
Votes for The Historic Centre of Cajamarca

0

  • Frédéric M

1

  • Ammon Watkins
  • Francky D'Hoop
  • Javier
Cajamarca is a colonial city that bears witness to Spanish culture in the Andes and its domination over the Incas. There are historic buildings built of adobe and volcanic stone. The city also has many archaeological sites on the outskirts, including ceremonial centres, some dating from the pre-Inca period.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
The Historic Centre of Cajamarca (ID: 1646)
Country
Peru
Status
On tentative list 2002 Site history
History of The Historic Centre of Cajamarca
2002: Added to Tentative List
Added to tentative list
Criteria
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org

Community Information

Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
No connections… yet. Propose a connection.
News

No news.

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 11/05/19.

Ammon Watkins

The Historic Centre Of Cajamarca

The Historic Centre of Cajamarca (On tentative list)

The Historic Centre of Cajamarca by Ammon Watkins

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 …

Keep reading 0 comments