Yanacocha is one of the largest and most modern gold mines in the world. Its forerunners date back to the eighth century BC, when the Cajamarca goldsmiths made sumptuous crows for the priests of the ancient temple of Kunturwasi. The city of the northern Highlands, is 856 km from Lima (55 minutes by plane). That city can also be reached by land from Trujillo or Chiclayo (about 300 km west). Visits are recommended between April and October, the sunny season in the Highlands region of high humidity.

The oldest evidence of goldsmithing in Cajamarca comes from the old site of Kunturwasi (San Pablo district), where dwellers from nearby villages in the second millennium BC started to transform the mountain summit for ceremonial purposes.

Representatives of the Cupisnique culture, from the Coast, probably settled in Cajamarca between the eighth and second centuries BC. In any case, their pottery, goldsmithing, sculpture and architecture show several similarities with Chavín, a contemporary culture of the Highland area.

Imposing walls and stairways have changed the mountain into a pyramid with squares and temples at its summit. One of the platforms at the top was used to bury the members of the priestly elite. Crowns and other gold plate and embossed ornaments have been found inside the chambers.

Figurative motifs in the pottery are similar to those in the architecture: deities with impressive fang and/or eagle or owl features, or severed human heads. Visitors can see them at the modern site museum.

The pre-Hispanic site known as the Inca´s Baths is 6 km from the city. It is an orderly set of structures, baths, canals and ponds of sulfurous water coming from volcanic hotsprings.

Historical accounts state the baths were a ritual resting place for Atahualpa, the last reigning Inca. It was precisely there that the Spanish Conquistador arrived to capture him. The stone canal and piping system that mix hot and cold water and open to the public.