In my mind, my trip to Arequipa promised to be both a welcome respite from big city Lima and a time of more activity, as I had more tours and excursions planned in a shorter amount of time. Arequipa definitely delivered. To the question, what should I do in Arequipa? I say plan the big things, but be ready to be flexible if plans don’t work out and ready to bump around and explore and just enjoy being in this beautiful city.

Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city (population 1.15m), but I had only ever heard of Lima (population 10m) and Cusco (and by extension Machu Picchu) as places to visit. Here are the ways I recommend you spend your time in Arequipa:

• Eat!
• Sanctuario Andino
• Colca Canyon
• Laguna Salinar
• Ruta Sillar
• Enjoy the views
• Explore

Day Trips from Arequipa

Of my five full days in Arequipa, I planned day trip tours for three of them – Colca Canyon, Ruta de Sillar, Laguna Salinar.

Colca Canyon

I didn’t make it to this tour! I paid, and was up at the ungodly hour of pickup – 3am. Unfortunately I was up sick with tummy pains and running to the bathroom. I’m not sure what I consumed the day before, but being on a bus and touring around the countryside all day was definitely out of the question, so I told the tour guide to go without me (this is what I mean by being flexible if plans don’t work out!).

I did meet some people later on who had done my exact tour, and they said it was a very fun day. The Canyon is the second deepest in the world, and is famed with history and culture. You can also see condors there. I was bummed that I didn’t make it.

Ruta de Sillar

Sillar is the cut white stone that has helped Arequipa get its name the White City. I took a tour of the Ruta de Sillar, in which we visited two quarries. The first focused on sculptures made of the white stone, great for photo ops. The second, La Quebrada de Culebrillas, was a narrow snake-like gorge that even had prehistoric petroglyphs.

Laguna de Salinas

On another day, I took a tour to visit the Salinas salt lake, which is ~4300m above sea level. There were other stops along the way. Great opportunities to get pictures of Misti Volcano and learn about all three of the volcanoes that line the valley. At that altitude, it became very cold and noticeably harder to move/breath. Be sure to acclimate to the area and prepare for altitude sickness before visiting these heights. I went in March during the rainy season and the lake didn’t look very special. But I’m told during the summer months, you’d get more bang for your buck in terms of the view.

Places to Visit in Arequipa

Museo Santuarios Andinos

This ended up being my favorite visit in the city! The museum educates us on the Incan practice of sacrificing children to the volcanoes/mountains, which they believed were alive, in order to maintain harmony and make it through disasters such as eruptions and earthquakes. It features the preserved body of a 15 year-old girl, Juanita. Her remains were preserved from the freezing temperatures at the top of the volcano (she was buried at +6K meters above sea level…considering how I felt at 4300m visiting Laguna Salinar, I can’t even imagine). No pictures were allowed inside the museum, but take my word that it is worth the visit.

Plaza de Armas

Every city with a Spanish colonial past has a Plaza de Armas. Arequipa is no different. Visit in order to see the imposing Basilica Catedral de Arequipa (it’s been rebuilt/restored seven times due to earthquakes!), the colonial government buildings, pick up tours, and just to people-watch. Be sure to take advantage of the many people selling queso helado in and around the square (note: this ice cream does not actually have any cheese in it).

Mercado San Camilo

Fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, and everything else you can think of can be found in this market. There’s also plenty of places to grab an affordable meal. One of my tour guides told me it’s great to eat there, but do so before 2pm, because after that it gets risky with food being left out.

Mirador de Yanahuara

Take a hike up here to get some great views of the city and volcanoes. You can also find plenty of vendors selling queso helado here, and lots of picanterias (restaurants selling traditional food).

Eating in Arequipa

These are the restaurants I tried while in the city. 

• Chira Fusion
• Tipika
• Zig Zag
• Oso Cafe
• Chicha by Gaston Acuario
• MUMIS
• Victoria Picanteria

I would recommend all of them EXCEPT Chicha. Oddly enough, Chicha is a restaurant by world class chef Gaston Acuario, and it had the least remarkable food (with the heftiest price tag). I had pulpo a la brasa and rocoto relleno, both dishes of which I’ve had better at other restaurants.

Rocoto relleno is one of the popular dishes of Arequipa, and it’s the first thing I ate here at Chira Fusion restaurant. I was blown away by the richness and complexity of flavors when I tried it at Chira. But it just seemed like a basic stuffed pepper when I had it at Chicha.

Some other local favorites that I tried include chicharrón (Tipika), a sizzling alpaca steak (Zig Zag), and adobo arequipeña (pork in an adobo sauce/stew…I tried this at Victoria).

Arequipa: Bump Around and Enjoy

I stayed in an airbnb in the Vallecito neighborhood, about a 15-20 walk to the Plaza. I think this helped me achieve the balance that I was looking for, where I would walk to the center and explore during the day and spend my down time in my quiet neighborhood, people-watching from my balcony and enjoying the lovely views of the Misti and Chachani volcanoes. (Note: there’s a third volcano, Pichu Pichu, but I didn’t have a balcony view of this one).

Today, Arequipa is a mix of the architecture from its colonial past, the vision of the republic (those who sought independence), and now the Andinos who have migrated to the city. There are so many hidden courtyards, smaller plazas, churches, tiny alleyways with restaurants and shops. It is very easy to walk around and get lost in it all. I even enjoyed spending some time at the library (Biblioteca Regional Mario Vargas Llosa)! 

What to do in Arequipa? bump around, talk to the people, eat, and enjoy the charm.