CUMBEMAYO

Located 19 km southwest of Cajamarca up a dirt switch back to 3,390 meters is Cumbemayo (8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, $2), a shrine of carved water canals that still confounds archaeologists. The canals are at least 2,000 years old, but the exact date—and the reason they were built—is unknown. The lines are so perfect, and the rock ground so smooth, that it is difficult to imagine these works of art being carved with obsidian hammers, the state-of-the-art technology at the time. Because Cajamarca has an abundant water supply, the canals were not necessary, so they may have had a ceremonial or religious function. If you arrive at this spot early in the morning, the religious explanation of Cumbemayo becomes more plausible. The power and energy of the area, which is covered in ichú grass and punctuated by bizarre volcanic formations, is palpable.

There is a marked trail from the parking lot that descends to a rocky formation, through which a cave leads with several mysterious petroglyphs—including one that resembles a wooly mammoth. Follow the path through the cave (a headlamp really helps) until you emerge on the other side. Then head up a hill and down a drainage to a trail junction. Head right and follow the canals until you reach a carved chair-like stone, which obviously served a ceremonial purpose. Return the same way and follow the canals downhill, where the road leads back to the parking lot.

The road to Cumbemayo passes through villages where campesinos produce everything they need to live except for salt, matches, and kerosene. They live in casas de tapial, or rammed earth homes, and are for the most part vegetarian. Their diet consists of oca and ulluco (two types of tubers), corn, super-grains such as kiwicha and quinoa, and lentils—or chocho, the seeds of a purple-flowered, lupine-looking plant that are cooked, mixed with tomato and cilantro, and sold on Cajamarca street corners. Despite the climate, there are oddly no llamas or alpacas in this part of Peru, and the sheep and other animals are rarely eaten but sold instead for what little cash their owners seem to need. Before reaching Cumbemayo itself, there is a pyramid-shaped hill on the right named Cerro Consejo (“The Hill of Advice”). According to local legend, this apu, or sacred hill, gives advice to those who ask.

Sporadic $1.50 colectivos that will put you within walking distance of Cumbemayo can be taken from behind Cerro Santo Apolonia—this is the best option, as a guided tour is not necessary to visit Cumbemayo.