Chachani Volcano: at 6,057 meters, the most accessible in Peru
Chachani stands 6,057 meters high and is located 22 kilometers north of Arequipa. It is the tallest volcano of the three surrounding the city, higher than both Misti and Pichu Pichu, and yet it is the least known of the three among international visitors. That paradox has an explanation: Misti is more photogenic because of […]
The most important churches in Arequipa
Arequipa has 14 churches or temples, 4 chapels, 5 convents, and 3 monasteries in its historic center. This concentration of religious architecture within just a few blocks is not a coincidence, but the result of five centuries of competition among religious orders to establish their presence in the most important city in the southern part […]
Misti Volcano: symbol of Arequipa and ascent to 5,822 meters
El Misti is the first thing you see when you arrive in Arequipa. From the airport, from the Plaza de Armas, from any rooftop in the historic center: the perfectly symmetrical cone of the volcano appears northeast of the city as a constant presence that Arequipa residents have incorporated into their identity with a pride […]
Yanahuara Viewpoint
Arequipa has several viewpoints from which to see the Misti volcano, but none has the composition of the Yanahuara Viewpoint. From there, Misti’s perfect cone appears framed between the sillar arches of the viewpoint, with the white city stretching out in the background and Chachani and Pichu Pichu flanking the landscape to the right and […]
Arequipa Cathedral: A Complete Visitor’s Guide
The Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa is the building that has spent the most time overlooking the Plaza de Armas from the same spot. It has been on the north side of the square since 1540, the year the city was founded, and although what you see today is not the same building from that first […]
Monastery of Santa Catalina
Anyone who arrives at the Monastery of Santa Catalina without knowing what to expect experiences an impact that no prior description fully prepares them for. From the street, the monastery is simply a high sillar wall that occupies an entire block in Arequipa’s historic center. Nothing on the outside suggests what is inside. When you […]
Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas
Arriving at Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas for the first time produces an effect that is difficult to describe to anyone who has not experienced it. It is not the impact of a large square nor the amazement at an isolated monumental façade. It is something more subtle: the feeling that everything surrounding that space was […]
What to see in Arequipa, the best tourist attractions
Arequipa is the city in Peru that most surprises visitors who arrive without formed expectations. It does not have the historical density of Cusco or the chaotic energy of Lima, but it has something neither of them has: such a strong identity of its own that Arequipeños express it with a regional pride that has […]