Arequipa is the perfect destination to enjoy a vacation full of nature, adventure, history and delicious cuisine. Named Cultural Heritage of Humanity, this city is, without a doubt, one of those places that you have to visit at least once in your life. Here we leave you 10 tourist places in Arequipa that you should know. 

1. Misti Volcano

Arequipa has one of the most impressive destinations for the most daring travelers: El Misti, a 5,822-meter volcano, over 800,000 years old and one of the 16 active and potentially active volcanoes in Peru. If you are looking for a maximum adventure plan, we recommend you make the ascent to the Misti Volcano , a two-day journey surrounded by incredible landscapes, camping at more than 4,000 meters above sea level and with a totally unique arrival at the finish line: the view from the Misti crater.

How to get there: although you can see the Misti from practically anywhere in the White City, if you want to trek to the top we recommend hiring a tour, since it is a demanding walk, at a high altitude and in which you need to be accompanied by a guide who knows the area and who can accompany you all the way.

2. Monastery of Santa Catalina

In the heart of the city of Arequipa is one of the great architectural works of colonial Peru. This is the Santa Catalina Monastery , a cloistered convent built in the 16th century and which has more than 20,000 square meters that you can explore from end to end. Its colorful streets, its interesting history and its amazing architecture have made the Santa Catalina Monastery one of the main tourist places in Arequipa.

How to get there: the Santa Catalina Monastery is located just a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa. If you want to visit it on your own, you only have to follow Santa Catalina street (located next to the Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa) and continue along it for four blocks. If you prefer, you can join our City Tour in Arequipa , which includes a guided tour of the monastery and other places in the city.

3. National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca

Among the great natural places to visit in the surroundings of Arequipa is the National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca. It is the home of the majestic Arequipa volcanoes that we mentioned earlier, of typical Andean highland animals such as the llama, the alpaca, the vicuña and the guanaco, and of large lagoons inhabited by birds such as flamingos.

In addition, in this place are the Sumbay Caves , where more than 500 cave art paintings with an antiquity of between 6,000 and 8,000 years are preserved. Among the drawings that you can see here, are the typical camelids of this Andean region in a resting situation.

How to get there: to get to the Salinas y Aguada National Reserve you will have to take a taxi in the center of Arequipa that will take you to Chiguata, 25 km from the city. Once here, you have two options, continue with the taxi to the reserve or make the journey on foot, in a simple walk of around two hours.

4. Yanahura Lookout

If you are one of those who like to have a 360 view of the city you visit, you have to visit the Yanahura Viewpoint. Located in the picturesque district of the same name, this viewpoint offers one of the most spectacular views of Arequipa, with the city at the foot of its three most representative volcanoes: Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. In addition, another of the attractions of this place are its characteristic white ashlar arches, in which you can read phrases of famous people from Peru.

How to get there: the Yanahuara viewpoint is just a 10-minute walk from the center of Arequipa, so you can get there on foot.

The cover photo of this article and one of the 10 places in Peru that you do not know exist. The Choqolaqa Stone Forest looks like a landscape from another planet, the scene of a Hollywood Martian fiction or even a surreal painting by Dalí. It is also known as Nueva Arequipa, and the legend says that one day its inhabitants stopped respecting their Apus and as punishment everything turned to stone.

How to get there: From Arequipa you must go to Tisco, a journey that takes around 5 hours. From Tisco you can ask the locals how to get to Choqolaqa, which is about two hours away. Due to the complexity of getting there, we recommend hiring a tour operator that offers this visit from Arequipa.

6. Sillar Route

One of the main characteristics of Arequipa is the white of the walls of its most important buildings. This color comes from the material with which they are built: ashlar, a famous stone from the city’s volcanoes that has served as a construction element for hundreds of years. If you want to know how the process of extracting this stone is, we recommend you do the Ruta del Sillar, a tour of a quarry on the outskirts of the city where you can also observe the carving, carving and mega-carving work.

How to get there: there are buses and taxis that take you to the ashlar quarries, but there are also organized excursions, such as our Ruta del Sillar tour , which also includes a visit to the petroglyphs of Culebrillas.

7. Colca Canyon

It is inevitable: when we think of tourist places in Arequipa, the first thing that comes to mind is the Colca Canyon. This impressive jewel of Peruvian nature is the main tourist attraction in the Arequipa region, and with good reason! At 3,600 meters above sea level, the Colca is one of the deepest (and narrowest) canyons in the world . In it you can do practically anything: from enjoying the flight of the condor to relaxing in its hot springs, discovering the origin of the pre-Inca terraces or sleeping under an authentic blanket of stars completely surrounded by nature.

How to get there: although you can make the trip on your own, taking public buses or taxis, we recommend you take our excursion to the Colca Canyon , where the experience will be more comfortable and complete. In addition, you can also do a two-day trek through the Colca Canyon, discovering its most spectacular corners.

8. Imata Stone Forest and Pillones Waterfall

The Stone Forest of Imata is a place where the action of the wind and the rains turned the rocks found here into large natural sculptures. Taking a walk through this place is a totally exciting experience. Nearby is one of the newest and most spectacular tourist places in Arequipa: the Pillones Waterfalls, another great wonder of nature where you will want to spend the whole day taking photos and enjoying its pure and fresh air.