Jauja

Founded on 25 April 1534 by Francisco Pizarro as the first capital of Spanish Peru — a status it held for just one year before Lima took over — Jauja is a high-altitude town in the Mantaro Valley of Junín, with narrow blue-painted streets and a compact centre with cafés and restaurants. Nearby Laguna de Paca adds a scenic draw, and the town's name lives on in the Spanish expression país de Jauja, meaning a land of abundance.

• Population21,057
• Nearest water1.4 km
• Nearest mountain3.1 km