Things to do in Arequipa: the White City, the Sillar Route, Salinas and Colca

In Arequipa you walk through a Historic Center made of sillar, with the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral and the Santa Catalina Monastery, and head out to three nearby landscapes: the quarries of the Sillar Route, Salinas Lagoon with its flamingos and Colca Canyon, where the condors fly.

Why is Arequipa called the White City?

Because of sillar, a white or pinkish volcanic stone used to build its churches, mansions, arcades and bridges. It formed from eruptions millions of years ago and is light but strong. To withstand earthquakes, builders used it in thick walls and vaulted roofs. The Historic Center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What is there to see in the Historic Center?

• The Plaza de Armas: it’s surrounded by arcades with arches of granite, lime and sillar, and by the Cathedral. In the middle is the Tuturutu fountain and, in the background, El Misti and Chachani.
• The Cathedral: it was rebuilt in sillar, in neoclassical style, after the fire of 1844. Inside is a twelve-meter Belgian organ.
• The Santa Catalina Monastery: it was a cloistered convent for almost four centuries, until 1970. Its streets, courtyards and cloisters make it look like a small citadel.

Sillar Route: where does the stone come from?

The quarries are north of the city, in Cerro Colorado. The Añashuayco ravine begins on the slopes of Chachani, and there the stonecutters still cut and carve sillar by hand: their knowledge of quarrying and carving the stone has been Cultural Heritage of the Nation since 2014.

The Sillar Route tour runs in the afternoon: it picks you up at your hotel at 2:00 p.m., tours the Añashuayco quarries, walks to the Culebrillas ravine, with its petroglyphs, and drops you off at the Plaza de Armas at 6:00 p.m.

What will you see at Salinas Lagoon and the Lojen mini volcano?

At 4,300 m above sea level, Salinas Lagoon is the largest in the region and lies within the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve, home to all three species of high Andean flamingos.

The Salinas Lagoon and Lojen mini volcano tour leaves at 6:00 a.m. and stops for breakfast in Chiguata. After the salt flat, with flamingos, vicuñas, llamas and alpacas, you see traditional salt extraction and the Lojen mini volcano, a forest of rocks with hot pools. Lunch is in Characato.

Colca Canyon: should you go for one day or two?

Chivay, the capital of the valley, is 151 km from Arequipa. From the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint you can watch the Andean condor fly, one of the largest flying birds in the world.

The Colca Canyon day trip picks you up between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m.: you have breakfast in Chivay, at 8:15 a.m. you’re at Cruz del Cóndor and on the way back you stop at the Chacapi hot springs. The Colca Canyon 2 days, 1 night tour leaves between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., spends the night in Chivay and sees the condors on the morning of day two. If you only have one day, choose the day trip; if you’d rather not get up so early and want to go up more gradually, the two-day tour.

How high is each place?

Above 2,500 m, it’s a good idea to drink plenty of fluids, eat light and avoid strenuous activity for the first few hours. That’s why it’s best to start with the city and the Sillar Route, which don’t reach that altitude, and leave Salinas and Colca for later. The 2-day tour carries an oxygen tank.

What can you do in Arequipa in 2 or 3 days?

• Day 1: the morning in the Historic Center and, at 2:00 p.m., the Sillar Route.
• Day 2: Salinas Lagoon, with pickup at 6:00 a.m., or the Colca Canyon day trip, which leaves before dawn.
• Day 3: the tour you didn’t do on day 2.

If you’d rather spend a night in Colca, use days 2 and 3 for the 2 days, 1 night tour: on day 3 you return to Arequipa after lunch in Chivay. With two days, stick to days 1 and 2.

Pick your date and book the Sillar Route, Salinas Lagoon or Colca in one day or in two days.