Postcard from Cajamarca - the Spa of the Incas

Now we have taken a coach into the mountains - the Andes - to go to the stunningly beautiful city of Cajamarca, the capital of the Cajamarca region and where the Inca culture spread from.

This is the main square of Cajamarca - the Plaza de Armas - and here it is from a hill that we climbed.

In 1532, when the Inca king, Atahualpa, was visiting the hot baths the Spanish invaded, caughr him and imprisoned him in this building - el Cuarto de Rescate - the  Ransom Room  . For his release the Spanish demanded a ransom of precious jewels, ornaments and metals that had to fill the  room up to a man's reach.

 The Incas complied and filled this room with treasure:

However, after the Spanish received the ransom they reneged on their promise to release Atahualpa and executed him.  And that was the end of the Incas.

Not only is Cajamarca itself very beautiful, but the surrounding area is also really lovely.  We went up these steps past houses and little shops selling arts and crafts, up to the top of the hill.

But this is how it started at the bottom:

Here's another view from the hill overlooking this beautiful city:

And another one:

This is the church of San Francisco, which is in the main square, belongs to the San Francisco Convent and was built completely out of volcanic rock. It dates from the 17th century and its twin towers were added in the 20th century :

Here's another beautiful sight as we made our way back down the hill the long way:

Here is my family walking along another typical Cajamarca street where people are selling arts and crafts:

Everyone goes to Cusco and Machu Picchu and don't realise just what treasures are to be found in the north of Peru.  This is the cathedral  which also dates back to the 17th century, with its façade also being sculpted out of volcanic rock:

And there's a rich variety of folk arts.  Here are some children in various Andean costumes in a procession that we met:

And here are some more:

And how about this gorgeous little couple:

And here we have a group of Andean women in their typical hats using the procession to make a protest:

I don't think I've ever seen such a colourful protest before.

Cajamarca is called Peru's carnival capital because of the brightly colourful dance groups and bands that perform during the carnival days in February and March.

After exploring the city we make our way to the hotel. which is a colonial house (a casona):

and relax before enjoying a  lovely meal.  Here is another casona:

Tomorrow we're going to go to Los Banos del Inca - the spa - and take a trip around the countryside.