Arequipa – How to visit Peru’s hidden gem

Before we traveled to Peru, we didn’t have this city on our radar at all. But we can tell you now: don’t miss Arequipa! We were totally surprised and loved it because there are so many different things to do here.

1. Basic Information about Arequipa

The drive from Nazca to Arequipa takes 10 hours. We took the night bus with Peruhop but you can also fly directly from Lima or Cusco. Arequipa is already 2,300m above sea level and is surrounded by the Misti and Chachani volcanoes that tower over the city. It has the nickname „White City“ due to the beautiful white structures seen around the city.

2. Where to stay and eat

We stayed at the Selina Hostel, which is about a 10-minute walk north of the main square, Plaza de Armas, with its impressive cathedral. We scored a real bargain here, paying just around 8$ per person per night for a private room with a shared bathroom via ZenHotels.com.

The hostel is really nicely decorated and has a huge garden with a pool and a small tree house in the backyard. It even made it in our list of the best hostels we’ve ever stayed in. We stayed here for a total of 4 nights and would consider that a good amount of time to enjoy all the different activities in and around Arequipa. But you could also do a week easily. If you want to choose another hotel, we suggest staying at Plaza Central or Hostal Virreinal AQP.

As for restaurants, we can recommend the Zigzag, here you can try different meats, including alpaca (shame on us). It’s a bit more expensive by Peruvian standards, but the quality was definitely high. We also had a big meal with friends at La Benita de los Claustros and good burgers at Red Pig. If you ever want to try some fusion cuisine, go to Kai. Here Peruvian cuisine is combined with Thai food, simply delicious!

Pro Tip: From the Waya Lookout Terraza you have a wonderful view over the Plaza de Armas, the main square of Arequipa. So it’s perfect for a sundowner.

3. Colca Canyon

A day trip from Arequipa is the Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, reaching a depth of 4.160m. There are different options to explore it: Either trek it or do a tour by bus. We are lazy people and choose the bus.

Be prepared for a long day: you’ll be picked up from your hotel at 2.30 a.m. because the valley is a four-hour drive away. During the tour, you’ll see smoking volcanoes and be at altitudes of nearly 5,000 meters. So stay at least one day in Arequipa before doing the tour to acclimatize. Breakfast is included in the price and you will stop at a local family for it. There you will be able to get Coca tea or leaves of it. It’s an old-known remedy against altitude sickness and the taste is like a normal herbal tea.

A highlight is the flight of the Andean condor, the biggest raptor on earth. You can witness it at the Mirador Cruz del Condor, a stop on every Colca Canyon tour. The Andean condor has a wingspan of up to three meters and it is the heaviest bird of prey at 15 kilograms. It can’t fly properly either, because it would consume too much energy to fly actively due to its size and weight. Instead, they just float with the wind. It can glide with the updrafts to altitudes of more than 7,000 meters and can cover several hundred kilometers per day.

You also stop at local markets and some very cool hot springs (in Chivay) that are right next to a river. On top, you will see a lot of wild alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas during the ride. We paid about 31€ per person for this full-day excursion including breakfast and lunch.

4. River Rafting

Up for an adventure? Very close to Arequipa you can go river rafting down the Chili River. The river was quite wild and also cold. Luckily it was warm that day, but you will get a wetsuit anyway. For this, we paid 13,30€/15$ per person. It was really a very cool experience, we were a group of 6 plus a local and the crew. We have already been rafting in Croatia and Bali, but this was definitely the most action!

5. Canteras de Sillar

On the last day, we took a trip to a quarry just outside of Arequipa. It’s called Canteras de Sillar. „Sillar“ is the famous white rock obtained from the numerous nearby volcanos. You can observe the ancestral mining and stonemasonry techniques and see some artworks sculpted directly into the white stone. The gate looks a bit like the little sister of Petra, don’t you think?

You can take tours to go to Canteras de Sillar. We wanted to save some money and tried it on our own, so went there by Uber. Back to Arequipa unfortunately no Uber driver accepted us, because the quarry is so far from the main street. So we had to walk through the pampas until a random car took us to the main road and then we could get on a public bus. It was an experience.

6. Things we missed, but you shouldn't

You can also do a trip to the Laguna de Salinas, the little sister of the salt desert in Bolivia which is not far away from the city of Arequipa.

Do a Free Walking Tour of Arequipa’s Historical Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because it is home to so many religious convents, churches, and museums. The tours are run daily by local university students.

One of them is the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. Visit it to take a step back in time more than 400 years. The monastery was founded in 1579, formerly home to 450 nuns, and is now open to the public. It’s a fascinating collection of colored buildings in the Iberian style and is famous for taking pictures of colorful architecture and seeing an awesome sunset from the top.

7. Conclusion

Arequipa totally surprised us. It was one of our favorite cities in the whole of South America and is definitely worth visiting. It’s also a perfect stop on your way from Lima to Cusco as you can slowly adapt to the altitude. There are many really cool activities and the restaurants were delicious! We recommend staying for 3 nights at least, as one full day will be the tour of the Colca Canyon. Be sure to check our complete Peru itinerary here.

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