Arequipa

Where should I stay?

Where should I eat?

• La Nueva Palomino · Yanahuara · Arequipeña (picantería): A classic, family-run picantería serving rocoto relleno, chupe de camarones and chicha de jora at lunchtime.
• Sol de Mayo · Yanahuara · Arequipeña: Open since 1897, it serves traditional Arequipa dishes in a large colonial-style house with garden patios.
• Tradición Arequipeña · Paucarpata · Arequipeña (picantería): A large, popular picantería where local families go for adobo, ocopa and the regional set dishes.
• Mercado San Camilo · Centro Histórico · Food market: The city's main market, good for fresh juices, cheap lunches and a cup of queso helado.
• Chicha por Gastón Acurio · Centro Histórico · Modern Peruvian: Gastón Acurio's restaurant near Santa Catalina gives Arequipa classics a refined, modern treatment.
• Zig Zag · Centro Histórico · Grill / Andean: Known for alpaca and other meats cooked on hot volcanic stone, served in a two-level sillar building.

What should I do?

• Monasterio de Santa Catalina · Centro Histórico: A walled 16th-century convent with colorful streets, cloisters and cells that feels like a small city inside the city.
• Museo Santuarios Andinos · Centro Histórico: Guided visits explain Inca mountaintop sacrifices and show the frozen mummy known as Juanita (displayed most of the year).
• Plaza de Armas · Centro Histórico: The main square, lined with white sillar arcades and the cathedral, with views of El Misti on clear days.
• Iglesia de la Compañía · Centro Histórico: A Jesuit church with an intricately carved sillar façade and adjoining cloisters now filled with shops.
• Mirador de Yanahuara · Yanahuara: A viewpoint framed by sillar arches looking out over the city to the Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu volcanoes.
• Molino de Sabandía · Sabandía: A restored 18th-century stone mill set among green terraced fields just outside the city.
• Cañón del Colca · Valle del Colca: One of the world's deepest canyons, with terraced villages, hot springs and condors at Cruz del Cóndor, usually visited on a 2-day tour.
• Climbing El Misti · Volcán Misti: A demanding two-day guided ascent of the 5,822 m volcano above the city, only for well-acclimatized hikers.