The Beginning of the End of the Inca Empire

At first glance, Cajamarca seemed like any other city, but after a few steps through the city, we quickly noticed that there is no MC Donalds, no Starbucks, and nothing of the like here. Peru is still very original here and there are hardly any backpackers like us.

Cajamarca was the headquarters of the last Inca king, Atahualpa. His empire was destroyed by the Spaniards and Atahualpa was captured. In his cell, he drew a red line and promised to fill the room up to this line twice with silver and once with gold to buy his freedom. The Spaniards agreed and the entire Inca Empire brought precious metals from all corners of the country for months. Despite the agreement, Atahualpa was then executed, and thus the era of the Incas ended.

The throne of the last Inca king can still be admired on Mount Santa Apolonia today. One can really imagine how he sat up here in the 16th century and ruled his empire with the gigantic view.

In the valley are the 'Banos del Inca' - hot springs that the Incas used as a bathing facility back then. These springs can still be admired today. Around it is a kind of wellness area built, where small private baths can be taken. We treated ourselves to a massage here, just right after all the hikes.

Before we went on to the next city of our trip, we visited the Ruinas Ventanillas de Otuzco (Windows of Otuzco). The stone niches are located at an altitude of 2,850 meters and are graves from the pre-Inca period. The oldest are estimated to be 3,500 years old.

On the way back to the hostel, we watched a soccer game - Simon was thrilled. Now just pack together quickly, check out and then off to the longest bus ride of our Peru trip. It's about 325 km to Chachapoyas, across the Andes, which can take up to 12 hours ...