Cradled beneath the perfect snow-capped cone of El Misti and flanked by the volcanoes Chachani and Pichu Pichu, Arequipa is Peru's second city and one of its most beautiful. Its historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is built almost entirely from gleaming white volcanic sillar stone, earning it the enduring nickname "La Ciudad Blanca" — the White City. Baroque churches, courtyard mansions and a monumental cathedral line streets that still carry the unhurried air of a colonial highland capital, even as a lively, independent-minded Arequipeño culture — famous across Peru for its fierce local pride and its cooking — animates the plazas and picanterías.
Arequipa is also where South America's first luxury sleeper train begins and ends its journey through the Andes. The Andean Explorer links Arequipa with Lake Titicaca's Puno and the former Inca capital of Cusco, climbing to some of the highest railway altitudes on the continent along the way. For travellers, that makes the White City both a rewarding destination in its own right and the perfect bookend to a rail journey through Peru's highlands — a few days spent exploring cloistered convents and volcanic canyons before or after gliding across the Altiplano by private carriage.
Because the city sits at a comparatively gentle 2,335 metres, it is also the sensible place to acclimatise before heading up to Puno (3,830 m) or Cusco (3,400 m), making an Arequipa stay a practical as well as a scenic way to begin or end an Andean Explorer itinerary.
- ✦UNESCO-listed White City of carved sillar stone
- ✦Santa Catalina Monastery's painted cloistered streets
- ✦Views of El Misti volcano from Yanahuara
- ✦Home of rocoto relleno and Peru's finest picanterías
- ✦Gateway to Colca Canyon and its condors
- ✦Southern terminus of the Andean Explorer luxury train
- ✦Ideal altitude stop before Puno and Cusco
Places to See in Arequipa
Monasterio de Santa Catalina
A walled citadel within the city, this working 16th-century Dominican convent covers some 20,000 square metres of cobbled streets, cloisters, fountains and courtyards painted in deep ochre, blue and terracotta. Wandering its miniature "neighbourhoods" — Seville Street, the Orange Tree Cloister, the communal kitchens — is one of the most atmospheric experiences in Peru.
Plaza de Armas and Basílica Cathedral
Arequipa's arcaded main square, framed by sillar-stone porticoes and the twin-towered Basílica Cathedral, is the ceremonial heart of the city and the natural starting point for exploring the historic centre on foot.
Museo Santuarios Andinos (Juanita the Ice Maiden)
This museum houses the remarkably preserved remains of "Juanita," a young Inca girl sacrificed on the summit of Ampato volcano roughly 500 years ago and recovered from the ice in 1995 — a haunting window into Inca ritual and high-altitude archaeology.
Yanahuara Viewpoint
A short walk from the centre, the mirador at Yanahuara frames El Misti through a row of carved white-sillar arches — arguably the most photographed view in Arequipa, especially at sunset.
Casa del Moral and San Lazaro Neighbourhood
Elegant 18th-century sillar mansions such as Casa del Moral showcase the carved baroque facades unique to Arequipan colonial architecture, while the winding lanes of San Lazaro preserve the city's oldest residential quarter.
Colca Canyon
A popular full- or multi-day excursion from Arequipa, Colca is one of the deepest canyons in the world and prime territory for spotting soaring Andean condors above terraced pre-Inca farmland at the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint.
Mercado San Camilo
Arequipa's iron-and-glass central market is a feast for the senses — mountains of Andean fruit, cheeses, fresh juices and stalls serving ceviche and tamales alongside the everyday business of the city.
Food & Gastronomy
Arequipa is widely regarded as the culinary capital of southern Peru, with a proud tradition of picanterías — historic, often family-run restaurants — serving fiery, generous home-style cooking that Arequipeños defend as the country's finest.
- Rocoto Relleno — the city's signature dish: a bright red rocoto pepper hollowed out, stuffed with a savoury mix of minced beef, onions, olives and hard-boiled egg, topped with melted cheese and baked, usually served alongside a potato-and-cheese pastel de papa.
- Chupe de Camarones — a rich, warming river-shrimp chowder built on potatoes, corn, broad beans, milk, cheese, rice and egg, considered one of Peru's great regional soups and native to Arequipa.
- Adobo Arequipeño — slow-cooked pork marinated in chicha de jora, garlic and rocoto, traditionally simmered overnight and eaten as a hearty weekend breakfast with crusty pan tres puntas.
- Ocopa — boiled potatoes bathed in a bright yellow sauce of huacatay (black mint), peanuts, chili and cheese, served cold as a starter.
- Queso Helado — a cinnamon-and-clove-scented frozen dessert, despite its name ("cheese ice cream") containing no cheese at all, a legacy of Arequipa's colonial dairylands.
- Chicha de Jora and Pisco — the fermented purple-corn chicha and Peru's grape brandy pisco, the latter typically enjoyed as a pisco sour, remain the region's classic drinks.
For the full experience, seek out one of the traditional picanterías on the city's outskirts, or graze the stalls of Mercado San Camilo for fresh juices, cheeses and market ceviche.
