What You Need To Know

Arequipa Travel Guide

Embark on a journey to the captivating city of Arequipa, nestled in the heart of Peru. Your adventure begins here with my Arequipa Travel Guide, offering to make the most of your time in this enchanting destination.

Arequipa Unveiled

Your Essential Arequipa Travel Guide to Peru's Hidden Gem

A charming colonial-style city, Arequipa was one of my favorite stops on my Peru backpacking trip and a UNESCO heritage site. It’s Peru’s second largest city and is referred to as the “white city” due to many of its buildings made from white volcanic stone. It’s also surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, which makes for stunning views!

Arequipa is a place where you can come and stay forever – it’s just so captivating! Most people think of Lima and Cusco when they think of Peru but I’m telling you, you need to add this to your list of places to go in Peru!

Arequipa is known for its food scene, architecture, and stunning, but deadly, backdrop! What do I mean? Mist volcano is Peru’s most dangerous volcano and one of the most dangerous in the world, but it sits just 11 miles from Arequipa. You’ll have a good view of it whenever you’re in the Plaza de Armas.

Vanessa's Insider Tips

My Travel Tips for Arequipa

Here are some helpful Arequipa travel tips to know before you go:

When to Go: Dry season is April – November and wet season is December – March.
Where to Stay: I would stay as close to the center (Plaza de Armas) as possible, simply because that’s where all the action is, and you’ll likely be in that area every day anyways.
How to Get Around: You’ll be able to walk everywhere in Arequipa.
Arequipa Solo Female Travel: Arequipa is a great location for solo female travelers! Not only is there a big backpacker population, but it’s super safe as well. I always saw a large police presence when I walked at night, even though I already felt safe. In fact, it ranks as one of the safest cities in South America.

Discover Arequipa

My Recommended Itinerary for Arequipa Travel

Arequipa is one of those places that has a lot to do, but there’s also a charm in just walking around aimlessly, admiring the architecture and beautiful volcanos in the distance. Here’s what I recommend for Arequipa:

Free Walking Tour:

Great way to get a sense of the city and learn about its history. The walking tour will focus on the historic center and provide lots of valuable information you otherwise wouldn’t know. Just search online for “Free Walking Tour Arequipa” or find them in the center once you arrive.

Plaza de Armas:

This is the main square in the city, so you’ll likely spend a lot of time here anyways. Make sure to eat at one of the restaurants so you get a good view from above. I stayed at the Katari Hotel one night and can vouch it has a great view from its rooftop!

One of my favorite things to do was sit on one of the benches and people watch for a bit.

Mundo Alpaca:

Fun fact – there are more than 4 million alpacas in the world, with 94% of them in Peru! Mundo Alpaca is an educational experience where you get to directly interact with the alpacas and learn more about them.

In addition, there are textile museums, and you get to see women do live demonstrations of weaving using the alpaca’s fiber.

This was such a fun experience and a must-do while in Arequipa!

Museo Santuarios Andinos:

This archeological museum houses the world-famous mummy, Juanita! If you aren’t familiar with her, she was a 12-15-year-old girl who was sacrificed to the Gods over 500 years ago. Due to the weather, she’s extremely well preserved, even considered one of the most well-preserved mummies of all time! The museum doesn’t allow you to take pictures inside, but I can remember so vividly what she looked like. It was an incredible experience to see something like that up close and personal.

The museum has other exhibits and artifacts, but to me Juanita was the main attraction of course!

Monasterio de Santa Catalina:

This is a centuries-old monastery that was home to nuns in the 16th – 18th centuries and houses a small community today.

You can take a tour, but I just paid for the audio guide and did it on my own. There was a lot to learn about its history! In addition, it’s really beautiful inside.

Plaza de Yanahuara:

A bit further from the center there’s another plaza. There’s not much to see or do but I recommend going so you can check out the popular Mirador de Yanahuara, or the lookout. It gives you views of the city center and a volcano!

Visit churches:

I was raised Catholic, so always feel an obligation to visit churches in any place I visit. Besides the Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa (this is right in the Plaza de Armas) there’s also Iglesia Santa Teresa, Iglesia de San Agustin, and Iglesia de San Francisco.

Day trip to Colca Canyon:

One of the deepest canyons in the world (even deeper than the Grand Canyon), this place is also special because it’s home to the Andean condor, a sacred bird. And a huge bird – very, very huge!

I recommend signing up for a guided tour so they can handle transportation for you – I just picked one of the many travel agencies located in the Plaza de Armas. With the tour I selected, we got picked up crazy early, then stopped somewhere for breakfast, then made another pit stop in a cute village where we got to actually hold alpacas and pet them! The last stop was Colca Canyon.

Once at Colca Canyon, everyone goes to the viewpoint located at the cliff. It shouldn’t take long before you see the majestic condors flying around. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a close-up and see just how big they really are: they are the largest flying birds with a maximum wingspan of 10 feet and they weigh 33 lbs!

You can also do multi-day hikes within the Canyon, which I did not do, but imagine it would be quite an experience.

Flavors of Peru

My Recommended Food in Arequipa

All of Peru is known for its food, but Lima and Arequipa especially. Here are some places I recommend to eat in Arequipa:

Pasta Canteen:

Tiny restaurant that serves pasta made from scratch in their kitchen! I had the short rib pasta, and it was divine – hands down some of the best pasta I’ve ever had in life.

12 Monjas:

I had the best breakfast sandwich of my life at this place. Seriously it was that good! It’s called the “breakfast sandwich” so make sure to get it!

Las Gringas Pizzas:

I loved how all the pizza places I went to would give aji packets to put over your pizza! This place had good pizza if you’re in the mood for it.

Chaqchao Organic Chocolates:

Come here for some yummy chocolate and dessert options.

Queso helado:

Not a restaurant, but around the city you’ll see tons of stands that say “queso helado,” translated to “cheese ice cream.” It took me a good few days to muster up the courage to try it and surprise – there’s actually no cheese in it! Just milk, coconut, cinnamon, and vanilla. Apparently, it got its name from its appearance, but to me it doesn’t look like cheese at all.