Arequipa to Puno via Colca Canyon: 2 Days with the Condors on the Way
$130 Full Day
Overview
3 hours
Every afternoon from two
2 viewpoints
Carmen Alto and Yanahuara, three volcanoes
1579
The year Santa Catalina was founded
$52
Per person, entrances in
An Arequipa city tour in one afternoon. The viewpoints over the volcanoes, the monastery of Santa Catalina, and the sillar city around the square.
Arequipa is built of white volcanic stone under three volcanoes. The best way to understand it is to see both at once. This tour starts with the view. From Carmen Alto and Yanahuara the whole city sits below Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. The terraces of the Chilina valley lie in between. Then it goes inside. Santa Catalina is a walled convent the size of a village. Its streets, squares and painted cells were closed to the world for four centuries. The Jesuit church of La Compania on the main square has the most carved facade in southern Peru. Its chapel is painted like a jungle. The guide is official, the entrances are paid, and the transport is a bus. Three hours, and you know the city.
Santa Catalina is a place to walk slowly. The tour gives it an hour.
The monastery covers two hectares and has more than a hundred rooms, most of them open. The tour walks the main streets, the cloisters and a handful of the cells with the guide. Anyone who wants the rest of it can stay on afterwards. The ticket is valid until closing time and the guide will tell you where to find the way out. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings the convent stays open late and is lit by candles.
On Foot, or with the Viewpoints
Two versions of the afternoon. One walks, one rides. The monastery is in both.
Walking version
On foot from three
The route
Santa Catalina, the main square, La Compania and its chapel, and the mansion of Tristan del Pozo. All on foot.
What is missing
The viewpoints. No bus, so no Carmen Alto and no Yanahuara.
Price
40 dollars. Guide and entrances. Ask us for it.
This page
With the viewpoints from two
The route
Bus to Carmen Alto and Yanahuara first, then the same walk through the centre.
What is added
The volcanoes and the valley from above, and the arches of Yanahuara with their inscriptions.
Price
52 dollars. Transport, guide and entrances.
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Juanita, the ice maiden, is a separate ticket
The Museo Santuarios Andinos, a few doors from the square, holds the frozen Inca girl found on Ampato in 1995. It is not on the shared tour. The visit takes an hour and the museum runs its own guided entry. It fits before the tour, from eleven, or the next morning. If you want it added as a private extension, ask when you book and we price it.
Arequipa is the low city of the south at 2,335 metres. That is why people fly in here rather than Cusco or Puno. It is also why this afternoon is the right first thing to do. Sleep, walk the square, take this tour, and the canyon the day after. The two day Colca tour leaves at half past seven the next morning. The one day Colca tour leaves at three, which is a good reason to take the two day one.
Puno and Lake Titicaca next? The Arequipa to Puno via Colca Canyon tour does the canyon on the way. It drops you at your hotel by the lake. From there the Lake Titicaca tours start. The rest of what we run from the white city is on the Colca Canyon page.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ The monastery of Santa Catalina, a walled town of painted streets and cloisters, closed to the world from 1579.
- ✓ Carmen Alto and Yanahuara, the two viewpoints where the three volcanoes line up above the city.
- ✓ La Compania, the Jesuit church on the square, with the most carved facade in southern Peru and its painted chapel.
- ✓ The main square of Arequipa, arcaded on three sides and closed by the cathedral, in the afternoon light.
- ✓ The mansion of Tristan del Pozo, a sillar house of the seventeen hundreds with its carved doorway.
- ✓ An official guide, the entrances and the transport, all in the price. Three hours, every afternoon.
What to Expect
Three hours in the afternoon. The volcanoes from above, then the convent, the square and the church.
The bus collects you between two and half past. It crosses the river to Carmen Alto. There the terraces of the Chilina valley run down to the water, with Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu behind. Then Yanahuara, the old district on the hill. Its church dates from 1750 and its sillar arches frame the volcanoes.
Back in the centre the guide takes you into Santa Catalina. Founded in 1579, it is a city inside the city. The streets are named after Spanish towns and the cells are painted ochre and blue. An hour inside. Then the main square, one of the finest in Peru. Then the church of La Compania, with its carved facade and the painted chapel of San Ignacio.
The mansion of Tristan del Pozo shows how the sillar families lived. The tour ends in the centre at about five.
Tour Itinerary
1
Carmen Alto
Pickup between 14:00 and 14:30. The bus crosses the Chili river and climbs to Carmen Alto. The viewpoint looks over the pre Inca terraces of the Chilina valley to Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. About twenty minutes, with the whole city below.
Time 2:00 PM start
Altitude 2,335 m
2
Yanahuara
3
Santa Catalina
4
The square and La Compania
5
Tristan del Pozo
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Good to know
On the ending
The tour ends on foot in the centre at about five, not at your hotel. The order of the stops can change with traffic and with the monastery's hours. Santa Catalina always gets its hour. The walking is flat and the pace is gentle.
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Pickup at your hotel in central Arequipa between 2:00 and 2:30 PM
- ✓ Transport to Carmen Alto and Yanahuara and back to the centre
- ✓ An official tourism guide in Spanish and English
- ✓ Entrance to the monastery of Santa Catalina
- ✓ Entrance to the chapel of San Ignacio at La Compania
X
Not Included
- X The Museo Santuarios Andinos and the ice maiden Juanita, which is a separate visit
- X Drinks and snacks
- X Tips
- X Drop off at the hotel, since the tour ends on foot in the centre
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About the exclusions
On the price
The price is 52 dollars per person on the shared afternoon tour, minimum two people. It covers the bus to the viewpoints and the official guide. The entrances to Santa Catalina and the San Ignacio chapel are in. The ice maiden museum is a separate ticket and is not included.
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 20 people
Start Time: 2:00 PM
Pickup: Your hotel in central Arequipa
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the tour run?
Every afternoon. Pickup is between two and half past two from hotels in the centre. It ends in the centre at about five. Mornings are available as a private tour at a different price.
Is Santa Catalina included?
What is the minimum number of people?
Can I see Juanita, the ice maiden?
How much walking is there?
Does the tour end at my hotel?
Is there a walking version?
Is the tour in English?
Do I need to bring anything?
When should I do this in my trip?
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