Time in la Ciudad Blanca Arequipa

Known as the White City, or Ciudad Blanca, and famous for the picturesque views of the snow-capped Misti volcano towering over the Colonial city, Arequipa is a classic location for Spanish history. It mainly serves tourists as the jumping off point for visiting the deepest Andean canyon of Colca or as Peruvians refer to El cañon del Colca surrounding the Colca River. This canyon has a depth of 4,160 meters, and this is the perfect place to observe the majestic Andean condors. The Colca canyon is Peru´s second deepest canyon, and it is the most popular for tourists coming out of Arequipa to go river rafting, and exploring the area. The upper segment of Colca canyon has hot springs at La Calera and Colca Hot Springs Lodge. For more details and exact locations of the hot springs or termas; check our Hot Springs of the Andes book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas is spectacular with the double arches, including the second floor balconies, the palm trees and large white cathedral made out of quarried welded tuff. The historic city center is fascinating, having abundant old colonial buildings featuring stylistic massive wooden doors, and narrow cobblestone alleys. Arequipa is a big city, and it has heavy traffic. When getting out of the ten block core into the more modern city, one is faced with walled in blocks, metal grates, electric fences, broken glass along wall tops, beggars in the street, graffiti, trash– the Peruvian third world madness. One of the most popular places to visit in Arequipa is the Santa Catalina monastery. The narrow city streets of Arequipa provide the photography with plenty of subjects to shoot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The desert landscapes on the lower Pacific flank of the Andes define Martian-like landscape dappled with massive sand dunes and steep cliffs overlooking the deep blue ocean. Misti (elevation 5822 m) is the most iconic volcano overlooking the city, but it does not stand alone. Its neighbors Chachani and Pichu pichu make complex volcanic summits. Widespread ash-flow tuff sheets skirt the surrounding plains below these high summits. To the north, out of sight of Arequipa, the volcano Sabancaya is undergoing frequent ash eruptions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arequipa is a transit point for professional staff flying to and from the various Paleocene nearby large-scale copper mining open-pits. Copper, the conducting metal we all need for cars, mototaxis, cell phones, computers, televisions, and power transmission is the thread that sews together modern civilization. The closest copper mine of Cerro Verde, located 16 km to the southwest of Arequipa, is operated by Freeport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For an upscale with dinner in Arequipa try the restaurant Chicha. The dining in Arequipa has many options given the expanding tourist trade. The two most recognized signature dishes of Arequipa is the rocoto relleno, a type of stuff pepper, and the Adobo de Chancho, a heart pork stew. Recipes for both these dishes are included in Yani’s book Classic Peruvian Cooking. Also along Avenida Santa Catalina, follow up dinner with a visit to the Museo del Pisco for a quality cocktail.

The classic place to stay in this city is the Hotel Libertador, which sits on the slight hilltop park Selva Alegre just north of historic center of Arequipa. This hotel is one of the historic hotels that belonged to the biggest chain of Peruvian Tourists Hotels or formerly known as Hoteles de Turistas del Peru, for more information about this historic hotels check this post “Rolling in Peru old school – tour the country staying in the historic tourist hotels.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next time you plan a visit to Peru, aside from Lima and Cusco, plan to visit Arequipa. It is THE PLACE to try a good Rocoto relleno. Arequipa ranks in the top five cities, to visit, in Peru.