Cumbe Mayo is at an average altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level and 20 kilometers southwest from Cajamarca. Built by an advanced pre-Inca society around 1500 B.C.E, the Cumbe Mayo, which translates to thin river, is thought to be one of the oldest man-made structures in South America. It lies in the Archaeological Complex of Cumbemayo, a place where the highest hydraulic technology of ancient Peruvian communities and the impact of time upon nature are wonderfully combined.