Arequipa

Arequipa is Peru's second city, built of white volcanic stone called sillar under three volcanoes: Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. Its historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

At 2,335 metres it is far lower than Cusco or Puno, which makes it an easy place to start a trip in the south.

There are seven tours on this page: an afternoon in the city, and six trips to the Colca Canyon, four hours to the north, two of which carry on between Arequipa and Puno.

The city in an afternoon

The Arequipa city tour collects you between 2:00 and 2:30 and starts with the view: from Carmen Alto and Yanahuara the three volcanoes line up above the city.

Then an hour inside Santa Catalina, a walled convent the size of a village, founded in 1579 and closed to the public until 1970, with streets painted ochre and blue.

After that comes the main square, the Jesuit church of La Compañía with its carved façade and the chapel of San Ignacio painted with Amazon birds and flowers, and the mansion of Tristán del Pozo. The tour ends on foot in the centre at about five. Guide, transport and entrances are included. 52 dollars.

A walking version without the viewpoints is 40 dollars; ask us for it.

The Colca Canyon

Arequipa is the starting point for the canyon, where Andean condors fly past the Cruz del Condor viewpoint in the early morning. The day tour leaves at 3:00 in the morning and is back by five, for 39 dollars.

The two-day tour, with a night in Chivay and the hot springs, is 84 dollars and the better choice for most people. To walk to the bottom, there are treks of two days for 119 dollars and three days for 160. Our Colca Canyon tours page compares them all.

The Colca tourist ticket, 70 soles for most foreign visitors, is paid in cash on top.

On to Puno and Lake Titicaca

The bus from Arequipa to Puno takes about six hours. Arequipa to Puno via the Colca Canyon takes two days instead, with a night in Chivay and the condors on the second morning, and has you at your hotel in Puno at about seven in the evening. 130 dollars.

Coming the other way, Puno to Arequipa via the canyon is 114 dollars. The boat trips on the lake are on our Lake Titicaca tours page.

On your own in the city

Juanita, the Inca girl found frozen on Ampato in 1995, is at the Museo Santuarios Andinos, a few doors from the main square; the museum runs its own guided visits of about an hour. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings Santa Catalina stays open late and is lit by candles.

Arequipa is also known across Peru for its food. Find a picantería for rocoto relleno, a stuffed hot pepper, and chupe de camarones, a river-shrimp chowder, and finish with queso helado, which despite its name is an ice cream.

Altitude and weather

At 2,335 metres the city is comfortable for most people, but the Colca tours cross a pass at 4,910 metres, so if you arrive from the coast, sleep two nights in Arequipa before the canyon. The city is dry and sunny most of the year, with warm days and cool nights. What rain there is falls mainly from December to March.

Is Arequipa worth visiting?

Yes. Santa Catalina alone is worth the stop, the food is some of the best in Peru, and the city is the base for the Colca Canyon. Being lower than Cusco or Puno, it is also a gentle place to begin.

How many days do you need in Arequipa?

Three or four: an afternoon for the city tour, two days for the Colca Canyon, and a spare morning for Juanita and a long lunch. If you are going on to Lake Titicaca, the canyon can be your way there.

How do you get from Arequipa to Puno?

By bus in about six hours, or in two days through the Colca Canyon with a night in Chivay. The second way costs an extra day and shows you far more.