Known as the White City for its architecture carved in ashlar, Arequipa shines with a climate that is always sunny all year round and a blue sky that invites you to walk and admire the beauty of its monuments, snow-capped mountains, volcanoes and deep canyons, as well as enjoy its exquisite cuisine and a nightlife that will encourage you to return more than once. What are you waiting for? Let's start the trip!
Arequipa is the perfect destination to enjoy a vacation full of nature, adventure, history and delicious cuisine. Named as a World Cultural Heritage Site, this city is, without a doubt, one of those places that you have to visit at least once in your life. Here are 10 tourist places in Arequipa that you must visit.
Arequipa has one of the most impressive destinations for the most daring travelers: Misti, a 5,822-meter volcano, more than 800 thousand years old and one of the 16 active and potentially active volcanoes in Peru. If you are looking for a plan for maximum adventure, we recommend climbing the Misti Volcano, a two-day trek surrounded by incredible landscapes, camping at more than 4,000 meters above sea level and with a totally unique arrival at the finish line: the view of the Misti crater.
How to get there: although you can see the Misti from practically any part of the White City, if you want to trek to the top we recommend hiring a tour, since it is a demanding hike, at high altitude and in which you need to be accompanied by a guide who knows the area and can accompany you throughout the journey.
Water fountain in front of a colonial buildingIn the heart of the city of Arequipa is one of the great architectural works of colonial Peru. It is the Santa Catalina Monastery, a cloistered convent built in the 16th century and which has more than 20 thousand square meters that you can explore from end to end. Its colorful streets, its interesting history and its amazing architecture have made the Santa Catalina Monastery one of the main tourist places in Arequipa.
How to get there: the Santa Catalina Monastery is located just a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa. If you want to visit it on your own, you will only have to follow Santa Catalina Street (located next to the Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa) and continue along it for four blocks. If you prefer, you can join our City Tour in Arequipa, which includes a guided visit to the monastery and other places in the city.
Llamas in a mountainous landscape in one of the tourist places in ArequipaAmong the great natural places to visit in the surroundings of Arequipa is the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve. It is home to the majestic Arequipa volcanoes that we mentioned above, to typical animals of the Andean plateau such as the llama, the alpaca, the vicuña and the guanaco and to large lagoons inhabited by birds such as flamingos.
In addition, in this place are the Sumbay Caves, where more than 500 cave art paintings dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years are preserved. Among the drawings that you can see here, there are the typical camelids of this Andean region in a resting state.
How to get there: To get to the Salinas and Aguada National Reserve you will have to take a taxi in the centre of Arequipa that will take you to Chiguata, 25 km from the city. Once there, you have two options: continue with the taxi to the reserve or make the journey on foot, on an easy walk that lasts around two hours.
Tourist at a viewpoint observing the cityIf you are one of those who like to have a 360 view of the city you visit, you have to visit the Yanahura Viewpoint. Located in the picturesque district of the same name, this viewpoint offers one of the most spectacular views of Arequipa, with the city at the foot of its three most representative volcanoes: Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. In addition, another of the attractions of this place are its characteristic white ashlar arches, in which you can read phrases from illustrious Peruvian figures.
How to get there: The Yanahuara viewpoint is just a 10-minute walk from the center of Arequipa, so you can get there on foot.
A woman walking in front of a stone forestThe cover photo of this article and one of the 10 places in Peru that you don't know exist.
The Choqolaqa Stone Forest looks like a landscape from another planet, the setting of a Hollywood Martian fiction or even a surrealist painting by Dali. It is also known as New Arequipa, and legend has it that one day its inhabitants stopped respecting their Apus and as punishment everything turned to stone.
How to get there: From Arequipa you must go to Tisco, a journey that takes about 5 hours. From Tisco you can ask the inhabitants how to get to Choqolaqa, which is about two hours away. Due to the complexity of getting there, we recommend hiring a tour operator that offers this visit from Arequipa.
White sillar wall with sculptural workOne of the main characteristics of Arequipa is the whiteness of the walls of its most important buildings. This color comes from the material they are built with: sillar, a famous stone originating from the city's volcanoes that has served as a construction element for hundreds of years. If you want to know how the extraction process of this stone is, we recommend taking the Sillar Route, a tour of a quarry on the outskirts of the city where you can also observe the work of carving, milling and mega-carving.
How to get there: there are buses and taxis that take you to the sillar quarries, but also organized excursions, such as our Sillar Route tour that also includes a visit to the Culebrillas petroglyphs.
Deep canyon with clouds in one of the tourist places in ArequipaIt is inevitable: when we think of tourist places in Arequipa, the first thing that comes to mind is the Colca Canyon. This impressive jewel of Peruvian nature is the main tourist attraction in the Arequipa region, and with good reason! At 3,600 metres above sea level, the Colca is one of the deepest (and narrowest) canyons in the world. You can do practically everything here: from enjoying the flight of the condor to relaxing in its hot springs, discovering the origin of the pre-Inca terraces or sleeping under an authentic blanket of stars surrounded by nature.
How to get there: although you can make the trip on your own, taking public buses or taxis, we recommend taking our Colca Canyon excursion, where the experience will be more comfortable and complete. In addition, you can also take a two-day trek through the Colca Canyon, getting to know its most spectacular corners.
The Imata Stone Forest is a place where the action of the wind and the rain turned the rocks that were here into large natural sculptures. Taking a walk through this place is a totally exciting experience. Nearby is one of the most innovative and spectacular tourist spots in Arequipa: the Pillones Waterfalls, another great wonder of nature where you will want to spend the whole day taking photos and enjoying its pure, fresh air.
How to get there: These two places are located 145 km from the city of Arequipa, so the best option to get here is to take an all-day tour, which will take you directly to the destination and with which you can enjoy the experience to the fullest.
