Arequipa

Arequipa is Peru's dazzling White City, an elegant colonial centre built almost entirely of sillar, a pale white volcanic stone that glows in the sun, set dramatically beneath three snow-capped volcanoes. A UNESCO gem, its grand arcaded Plaza de Armas, baroque churches and, above all, the vast Santa Catalina convent, a walled city-within-a-city of colourful lanes, make it one of the most beautiful cities in South America.

History

Before the Incas the valley was home to hunters, fishers and gatherers who domesticated camelids and took up farming, and the Yarabaya and Chimba peoples dug irrigation canals along the Chili River. The best-known legend, recorded by Father Calancha, has the Inca Mayta Cápac telling his followers Ari qipay, yes, stay, though the chronicler Cieza de León says the valley came under Inca rule later, and the Incas settled mitma colonists here rather than founding a town. Juan de la Torre and Garcí Manuel de Carbajal, a lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro, founded the Spanish town on 15 August 1540 as the Villa de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora del Valle Hermoso de Arequipa, moving the settlers of Villa Hermosa de Camaná, and dividing the lots among Pizarro, the cabildo, the Dominicans and the founders; a royal decree of Charles V made it the City of Arequipa on 25 September 1541. It is now Peru's second city and the seat of its Constitutional Court (Wikipedia, Arequipa).

Highlights

• The Plaza de Armas - the grand arcaded square and cathedral in white stone.
• Santa Catalina Monastery - the vast walled convent of colourful lanes.
• The white sillar architecture - the pale volcanic stone buildings.
• The volcano backdrop - the snow-capped Misti and its neighbours.

When to go

Year-round thanks to its mild, sunny climate; May to November is the driest. It is lower and warmer than Cusco, a pleasant place to acclimatise gently before heading higher, and the gateway to the Colca Canyon.

Good to know

It is lower than Cusco but still at 2,300 metres, so still worth easing into. It is a gateway to the Colca Canyon, often used as a base. The centre empties in the evening once the day visitors leave for the canyon. The famous convent charges a fair entry fee but is worth it.

Nearby

The Colca Canyon and the volcanoes are to the north; the southern desert leads toward Nazca.

Key facts