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The wonders of Jaen

Posted On: 05 March 2024 #TierrasVivas 1212

Jaén is a land of natural landscapes, delicious typical dishes, adventure sports and friendly people who help you forget the stress of everyday life. It’s time to visit this postcard-perfect corner of Cajamarca.

His name doesn’t seem biblical for nothing. If we added the number of followers it has gained over time, we would turn Jaén into a religion: its spectacular panoramic views, cinematic sunsets and dreamlike landscapes are just some of the virtues by which this province of Cajamarca enchants its visitors.

In Jaén it is possible to enjoy natural environments, gobble up wild fruits, wander through the bamboo or cloud forests, even the opportunity to appreciate the fish farms, agricultural landscapes and the planting of the many economic activities of this spectacular Andean-Amazon area.

For nature lovers, we have the Botanical Garden, located four km south of the city, it stores approximately 520 species of plants such as shrubs, herbs, trees. And also a greenhouse for those plants that do not require sunlight, where there are nearly 300 species of plants, including orchids, ferns, etc.

A must-see in these places is a visit to the El Almendral hot springs, the best circuit to take a well-deserved dip with family or friends. This is a spa where hot springs emerge that are used for medicinal purposes, located very close to the junction of the Chamaya and Marañon rivers, half an hour from the city of Jaén.

The Yanahuanca Forest, is a perfect place for bird watching, located six kilometers from the airport, where we can also camp and find a great variety of flora and fauna.

For culture lovers, just two km from the city center, we have the Hermógenes Mejia Solf regional museum, which exhibits samples of anthropology, paleontology, art, natural sciences and archeology from the region. There are also the Montegrande and San Isidro huacas, which a few years ago were among the most important investigations in the world, where we will find pyramids and underground chambers that date back about four thousand years.

Amazonian Civilization

In 2018, a team of archaeologists, made up of nine Peruvians and eight Ecuadorians, showed the world the ceremonial temple of Montegrande, a spiral-shaped architecture that remained hidden for more than 5,000 years, and which, according to studies, would be the cradle of the domestication of cocoa. These remains found in Jaén (Cajamarca) are part of the discovery of an ancient Amazonian civilization, known as the Mayo-Chinchipe-Marañon culture, which developed on the border of Peru and Ecuador.

The Archaeological Temple of Montegrande, which marks the origins of civilization in Jaén, has been the subject of several seasons of archaeological research. Roger Atwood of the magazine Archeology of the United States of America, published an article including the Temple of Montegrande as One of the Top Ten in the World.

The importance of visiting this place is the antiquity that its dates show: 5,300 years before the present. Caral is also in the same antiquity. The investigations follow the premise postulated by Julio C. Tello about the origin of the Peruvian civilization could be found in the Amazon.

Coffee routes

As a measure to strengthen and consolidate the communal projects that will put Jaén in the eye of Peru and the world, we also find activities such as the Coffee Route, where all interested parties can do rural community tourism, one of the new tourist measures to preserve the environment and learn more about what our farmers do.

On this tour you will learn about coffee derivatives, various crafts, gastronomy and agriculture. This constitutes a tour where a conglomerate of tourist resources, of a natural and cultural nature, is shown where community rural tourism experiences are articulated, such as the following:

Santa Fe Agro-Ecotourism Farm

45 minutes from the city of Jaén, in the Las Naranjas Population Center, at an approximate altitude of 1533 m. s. n. m., is one of the pioneers of the province of Jaén, where you can experience various activities related to experiential tourism in terms of coffee production.

One of the characteristics, in terms of organic coffee management techniques, is that it has species adaptable to the area with a significant production and yield of selected quality beans.

In this place the visitor can enjoy country walks, visit the bamboo forest, bird watching and includes a visit to the Santa Fe waterfall located to the northwest of the farm, where the tourist can take refreshing baths and enjoy a varied flora. like the orchids that are found around said waterfall.

La Libertad Farmhouse

Upon arrival you feel the live culture and exquisite gastronomy as a letter of introduction. The wonderful landscape of extensive grasslands and its varied flora make this hamlet a dream place for tourists who visit it, just one hour from the city of Jaén, on the way to the Palma Central town center, belonging to the Las Naranjas Town Center.

Framed in the wonderful landscape of humid forest and extensive grasslands of the inter-Andean landscape of the province of Jaén, the hamlet exhibits the white jet waterfall, coffee crops, cultivation of vegetables, tubers, trout farming, cattle raising, traditional festivals, natural viewpoints and medicinal plants.

This hamlet, one hour from the city of Jaén, belongs to the Las Naranjas Population Center, at an approximate altitude of 2230 m. s. n. m., has as one of its greatest attractions the raising of trout, considered one of the most important trout producers in this province.

San Andrés Farmhouse

Located in the district and province of Jaén, 23 km in the east direction, we have this hamlet where you can see the San Andrés waterfall, cultivation of vegetables, tubers, cattle raising, natural viewpoints and medicinal plants.

On the route that leads us to one of the main central tourist resources, such as the San Andrés waterfall, you can observe various species such as a varied range of epiphytic plants, and species of orchids typical of the humid forest.

How to get to Jaén?

By bus: Lima – Jaén (18 hours)

By plane: Lima – Jaén (1h 30 min approx.). Flights leave every day.

The data

For those who plan to jump from Jaén to Chachapoyas to visit Kuelap, we pass on the information that on the way we will find the Burlan Lagoon, an aphrodisiac destination where you can take a boat ride or jet ski, or even fish. This is one hour and fifty minutes from the Jaén airport, heading to Chachapoyas.

Best Trekking and Tours in Peru

Many are the routes that take you to Machu Picchu, but none is like the Inca Trail Tours, the most famous pedestrian path in the Americas. After flying from the capital of Perú, Lima, you will arrive in Cusco to walk for four days along a path through forests and dense fog, millenary stone steps and discovering the ruins of ancient fortifications and Inca cities, and all the time enjoying majestic views.

If you want to visit Machu Picchu, we recommend you to book your Machu Picchu ticket in advance, so you will enjoy your vacation in Machu Picchu without any problem.

Edwin Caviedes Profesional guide

Edwin Caviedes is the founder and manager of Tierras Vivas, a company that benefits native people communities.