Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [368]
Granja Porcón
Located about 23km by road from Cajamarca, this is a successful evangelical cooperative that began in 1975 and is still going strong. The community has its own Plaza de Armas, plus two pueblos (towns or villages), Tinte and Huaquin. Overlooked by ‘God loves you’ billboards in Spanish and Quechua, about 1200 residents work in fields, a dairy, trout hatchery, wood mill, looms, craft shops and simple restaurants. You can stay overnight in the simple but attractive lodge (36-5631; granjaporcon@yahoo.com; s/d S60/85) that boast fireplaces in each of its 10 rooms. There’s even a small zoo here, housing a condor, jaguars, Spectacled Bears (the only type of bear found in South America), ostriches and monkeys. It’s an interesting ongoing project and is visited by daily tours (S15). A highlight is the herd of vicuñas (threatened, wild relatives of alpacas) running free among deer and alpaca herds.
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CAJABAMBA
076 / pop 14,400 / elev 2655m
The old route from Cajamarca to Trujillo takes at least 15 hours along 360km of mostly dirt road via Cajabamba and Huamachuco. Although this route passes through more interesting scenery and towns than the road via Pacasmayo, the bus trip is very rough and few tourists come through.
The friendly town of Cajabamba sits on a natural ledge overlooking swaths of farms and plantations. Whitewashed houses and red-tiled roofs lend the place a colonial aesthetic. The feast of La Virgen del Rosario is celebrated around the first Sunday in October with bullfights, processions, dances and general bucolic carousing and an interesting cattle market springs up on Mondays. Several sights are within an hour’s walk of Cajabamba, including the caverns of Chivato and the fetching mountain lagoons of Ponte and Quengococha. Ask at Hostal La Casona (35 8285; Bolognesi 720) for information on visiting these sights.
Most of the town’s simple hotels line the Plaza de Armas and can fill up fast before the feast of La Virgen del Rosario. They also suffer from periodic water shortages and dim lighting. Hostal Ramal (50-5539; Cárdenas 784; s/d without bathroom S10/27) has basic rooms with cold-water bathrooms. Hostal Flores (55-1086; Prado 137; s/d without bathroom S15/24) has rooms with a balcony onto the plaza. Hostal La Casona (35-8285; Bolognesi 720; s/d S20/29) gets the ribbon for the top place to stay in town, with DVD players in the rooms, a DVD library (S1), hot showers and several rooms with balconies and plaza views.
La Casona Restaurant (35-8285; Bolognesi 720; meals S5-10; 7am-10pm), below the hotel of the same name, is one of the better places to grab a bite in town. It serves the usual Peruvian victuals.
Transportes Rojas (55-1399; Bolognesi 700) has buses to Cajamarca (S9, 4½ hours) at 4am, 8:30am and 2pm. Transportes Horna (55-1397; Prado 153) has daily Cajamarca buses (S3, 4½ hours) at noon, 4:30pm and 8:30pm and buses to Huamachuco (S4.50, three hours) at 4am and 3:30pm. Los Andes (80-5594; Grau 1170) also goes to Huamachuco at 4am, 8:30am and 4pm (S4.50).
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HUAMACHUCO
044 / pop 29,400 / elev 3160m
This small colonial town is located between Cajabamba and Trujillo. It has an impressive Plaza de Armas, said to be Peru’s largest, and a large contemporary church.
The massive ruins of the pre-Inca mountain fort of Marcahuamachuco (admission free) lie 10km away via a track passable only by 4WD or truck. This 2.5km-long site dates from around 400 BC and has tall defensive perimeter walls and interesting circular structures of varying sizes. Marcahuamachuco culture seems to have developed independently of surrounding civilizations of the time. A taxi can reach within 5km of the site in the