Ventanillas de Otuzco

Pre-Inca necropolis with hundreds of burial niches carved into a cliff face

Ventanillas de Otuzco is a pre-Inca necropolis about 8 km northeast of Cajamarca, where hundreds of burial niches have been carved directly into a tuff cliff face. The site dates from the Cajamarca culture, roughly 800–1000 AD, predating the Inca conquest of this region by several centuries. The niches are arranged in rows and columns across the cliff, some reaching several metres above the ground, and the effect is striking — a cliff honeycombed with small rectangular windows, each one a tomb.

The site is accessible by combi from Cajamarca (there is a regular service) or by taxi, and can easily be combined with a visit to the Baños del Inca on the same day. A small entrance fee is charged. Avoid the middle of the day in summer when the sun is directly on the cliff; morning or afternoon light shows the niches more clearly and the walk along the base of the cliff is more pleasant.

things to do sight
A story
The name "Ventanillas" means "little windows" — an apt description for the rows of rectangular niches cut into the volcanic tuff cliff, each originally containing the mummified remains of a member of the Cajamarca culture (800–1000 AD). At their peak, there were around 340 niches here. Many have been destroyed by looting and erosion, but enough remain to give a powerful sense of the scale of the site and the care taken in preparing the dead.