Arequipa

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and the third most popular tourist destination after Cusco and Lima. It is located at an altitude of 2300 meters. The historical center is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The central square Plaza de Armas is one of the best in the country. On the sides stand houses built from volcanic stone. In the morning the area is deserted.






During the day square is occupied by the pigeons, tourists and locals.






The main building of the square is the city's cathedral, founded by the Spaniards in 1540, along with the city. Because of the numerous earthquakes it was destroyed several times, the last time recently, but each time was restored.


We were looking for a hotel close to the central square and found a great Katari Hotel (booking.com). It is not the most expensive (75 euros), but still the best in Arequipa. The reason is simple - it's the only hotel on the main square with a patio on the roof. In the north-east side of the square there is also a restaurant on the roof, but the view from it does not go to any comparison. At that time when all the tourists were searching for the good photospots to make pictures of the volcanoes, we just went up to the roof. This is definetely one of TOP5 views from the hotel among all hotels that we visited.

Morning


Evening








Typical house in the historic center looks like this. Patio is usually visible from the street.


Arequipa, by the way, is the best place in Peru to explore the patios. There are a lot of them here and most are accessible to the public. At the end of the article find few maps of Arequipa where you can see all the main Casas with patio.












Right near the central square is the Casa Iriberry, now University. Despite the large number of students, we walked freely on the territory.








For a small fee we visited Casa del Moral, a typical rich colonial house (1730), now  a museum.
















The most interesting place in the city is the Monastery of Santa Catalina (http://www.santacatalina.org.pe). It was built in the XVI century on the site of the former nunnery of the Incas, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Huaynaputina, the largest in the history of South America. Now most of the monastery is a museum and is open to public. Due to the bright colors, unusual items and interesting indoor lighting, photographers can hang here for the whole day.
























Unfortunately, Arequipa has one big disadvantage. The city center is not pedestrian and a huge number of taxis spoil impression.


Nevertheless, the city is must see and highly recommended.

More photos Arequipa.

Arequipa has many beautiful balconies. We were in Malta month ago and pay special attention to balconies.


A huge number of music stores


Cozy cafe


Volcanoes can be seen from many places in the city


There are many bridges across the river Rio Chili, some of them offer beautiful views of the volcanoes, especially at 4-5 p.m..




One of the few pedestrian streets


Maps of Arequipa




Getting to Arequipa: city has an airport, a taxi to the center costs about $9. From Lima you can also get by bus ($10-$45, 16-18 hours), use the bus companies Cruz del Sur, Oltursa or Excluciva. From Ica and Cuzco use Cruz del Sur (12 hours). Always try to choose Expresso service, these buses have less stops. Find here timetable of the buses to/from Nazca.