Museo Santuarios Andinos

In 1995 ash from a neighbouring volcano settled on the ice cap of Ampato, melted it, and a burial from an Inca mountain shrine slid down the slope and was found by a climbing archaeologist. Freeze-dried at over six thousand metres, the body had kept its textiles, its hair and the objects buried with it: miniature figures in silver and shell, feathered ornaments, pottery, food. The museum, run by a university, takes visitors in small groups through a short film, then rooms of the accompanying objects, and finishes at a darkened refrigerated case. Other burials recovered from the same high-altitude survey programme are shown in rotation.

History

The museum was founded in 1996 to conserve the finds of the high-altitude sanctuaries project of the southern Andes, begun in 1980 by the archaeologists José Chávez and Johan Reinhard. In November 2020 Peru's Ministry of Culture declared it a National Cultural Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Andean Sanctuaries Museum).

What to look for

• The frozen burial - shown in a darkened, chilled case at the end of the route.
• The offerings - miniature silver and shell figures, feather work and pottery.
• The textiles - the wrapping and clothing preserved by the ice.
• The introductory film - the story of the recovery on Ampato.

When to go

Year-round; this is a short indoor visit and Arequipa's weather is mild in every season. Groups leave on a fixed schedule and the last one is well before closing, so arriving in the final hour risks being turned away. It closes on one weekday. Mornings are quieter than the post-lunch slot when the city tours arrive.

Good to know

It is guided-only, the group is fixed, the commentary is scripted and the pace is brisk; you cannot linger. Juanita is not on display all year, since she is taken off view for conservation and another mummy is shown instead, and this is not always advertised in advance. No photography. The subject is the burial of a child, and some visitors find that harder in the room than on paper.

Nearby

Arequipa's Plaza de Armas, the Santa Catalina convent and the road to Colca.

Key facts