Arequipa - The White City

Introduction

As part of my trip to the Colca Canyon, I spent a day and a half in Arequipa, the white city. And what a day and half it was, Arequipa is a gorgeous Peruvian city, with a heavy European influence on its city center. Colonial architecture mixed in with white volcanic stone material, the town was absolutely stunning at sunset.

Beautiful Arequipa City

Wandering the Streets

I am starting this post with my favorite activity in Arequipa City, just simply wandering its streets. With a strong influence from European culture, Arequipa’s architecture features cobbled streets and potted plants hung from the walls or balconies of homes. The city has a multitude of little alleys which screamed ‘explore!’ to me. And yes, being there at sunset heightened the entire experience for me.

The 3 Surrounding Volcanos

Arequipa is guarded by 3 (or 7 if you count craters) volcanos - El Misti, Chachani & Pichu Pichu (dormant). They create a fantastic background to the city and hiking opportunities for the adventurous.

Many Cathedrals, Museums and Attractions

To put it simply, 1.5 days was no where near enough to cover the multitude of attractions in Arequipa. I took a free walking tour with ‘Walk for Tips’, which was an excellent choice. I would highly recommend the tour (https://www.facebook.com/walkfortips/) as:

- it was the best walking tour I have ever done

- it is free* (tips!)

- absolutely fantastic guide

- extra maps with marked out insider tips, printed food recommendations…etc

- Carlos does this solo, so I can recommend the tour with more confidence that you will get the same if not better experience than I did

Carlos was informative, passionate, entertaining and gave us many insider tips. Additionally, he helped us to unlock the many secrets of the city. I received many ‘AHA’ moments on the tour, as Carlos helped to point out so many little details in the architecture and design of the buildings.

Labour Day

I spent a full day in Arequipa on May 1. Which meant that the city center plaza was filled with celebrations. And what a sight it was. While difficult to describe, in contrast to Singapore’s national day parade (best benchmark I can think of back home), I felt that the event here was definitely less fancy but the rawness and passion on display were a sight to behold. Having said that, certain attractions were closed as a result as people took the day off.

Conclusion

If you are a fan of museums, cathedrals and street photography, Arequipa is the place to be. Food is also another big reason to spend time in Arequipa, as it boasts its own regional cuisine. Do try out the famous cheese ice cream, which has no cheese in it, but was still delightfully sweet!

Up Next

I will be posting about the Colca Canyon trek soon. So stay tuned!