Cueva de Callacpuma

Useful Information

Location:	Huayrapongo 06300. From department capital Cajamarca follow PE-088 east to Banos del Inca, turn right to Huayrapongo. At the end of the village on the left, signposted. (-7.1845494, -78.4398653)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Alfredo Mires Ortiz (2001): QAYAQPUMA - Pinturas Rupestres de Cajamarca, Perú, Tomo 1. Red de Bibliotecas rurales de Cajamarca. Cajamarca, Perú, 2001. online
Address:	Cueva de Callacpuma, Huayrapongo 06300, Tel: +51-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1970	archaeologist Róger Ravines carried out surface studies, excavations and reconnaissance at Callacpuma.
1985	registered in the archaeological inventory of pre-Hispanic Cajamarca in the category of petroglyphs.

Description

While this page is about a cave named Cueva de Callacpuma, it is actually about Callacpuma Hill and the prehistoric rock painting on this hill. Cerro Callacpuma (Callacpuma Hill, 3,100 m asl) is a rock massif near the city of Cajamarca, the hill runs from the east to the west. Callacpuma is a Quechua word that means “The House of the Puma”. This is the site of a large number of rock paintings, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture estimates that there are more than four thousand paintings on approximately 3 km². The paintings are up to 8,000 years old. There are hiking trails across the hill, and it’s possible to make half-day or full-day hikes to see numerous rock paintings. It seems the artists used any available rock face, and its most likely that numerous paintings were rather short-lived, and were destroyed by weathering. Remaining are all those which are located at a protected spot, where it cannot be reached by rain. The area with the highest number of paintings is located on the southern side of the hill in the middle. And the center is the Cueva de Callacpuma.

The cave is named Cueva de Callacpuma after the hill, but is also known as Cuevas de Llacanora. This site is a hotspot of cave paintings, obviously because the cave protected the paintings very well. From the main road through the village Huayrapongo a hiking trail leads uphill to the cave and further up to more cave paintings. This trail is well-kept, and there are numerous explanatory signs, unfortunately only in Spanish. The trailhead is very well signposted with numerous green signs saying "Pinturas Rupestres Callac Puma". Unfortunately there is no car park, so its necessary to leave the car at the roadside.

Caverna de Pumahushco is another small cave or shelter nearby. Actually there are three caves, which are 3 m, 8m, and 32 m long. The cave was excavated in 2018 by the archaeologist J. Toohey. The excavations reveal stone tools, faunal remains, human bones and ceramics. The cave is said to have the highest concentration of cave paintings in this area. They show animals like lama and deer, humans, and geometric figures. The remains are from the Cajamarca and Wari culture.

Its quite exceptional that such an important site is freely accessible. In most other countries the site would be gated and accessible only after appointment for a high fee. Actually the result was no surprise to us: modern "artists" damaged the painting by spraying grafitti on the walls, and the locals build their houses on the slope and dump their garabage. The National Institute of Cajamarca installed more than 200 markers and plans surveillance for the area. If the vandalism is not stopped this way they plan a temporary closure of the area for its protection. Please respect the site and do not litter or touch the paintings.