# Arequipa: map, what to do and when to go

Churches, casonas, and an entire monastery of white volcanic stone, picanterías with their own cooking, and Misti on the horizon.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Arequipa: how do I get from the airport to the center?** Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP) is about 8 km from the center, in the Zamácola area.
- **Arequipa: how many days should I plan?** I'd stay two full days in Arequipa.
- **Arequipa: can I go to Colca Canyon and back in one day?** By bus or car, Chivay, the valley's main town, at 3,635 m, is about 3.5 hours from Arequipa, and the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint is about another hour; condors usually fly in the early morning.

## The sillar center: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Compañía, and Santa Catalina
Start at the Plaza de Armas in the morning and walk the portals of Flores, the Municipalidad, and San Agustín.
- Monasterio de Santa Catalina
- Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
- Museo Santuarios Andinos
- Iglesia de San Francisco

## San Camilo, San Lázaro, the Chili River, and Yanahuara
Start early at the Mercado San Camilo, three blocks from the Plaza de Armas, to see the stalls before the midday bustle.
- Mirador de Yanahuara
- Barrio de San Lázaro
- Mercado San Camilo
- Museo de Arte Virreinal de Santa Teresa
- Convento de La Recoleta
- Puente Bolognesi
- Mirador de Carmen Alto

## Ruta del Sillar and the Sabandía campiña
In the morning, go on a tour or a prearranged taxi to the Añashuayco quarries, in Cerro Colorado, and the Culebrillas ravine, to see where the city's stone comes from.
- Ruta del Sillar
- Molino de Sabandía
- Mansión del Fundador

## Monasterio de Santa Catalina
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-monasterio-de-santa-catalina
Arequipa · Half a day or more
A walled citadel of 20,000 m² in the center, founded in 1579 and organized like a small town, with inner streets, cloisters, cells, kitchens, and a gallery of 92 paintings, including rooms of works from the Cusco school. The lanes and courtyards have walls painted in bright colors, such as the red of one of the inner squares, over the sillar. It stayed closed to the public until 1970, and nuns still live in the western part of the complex. The published hours are Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m., and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 8 p.m., with the ticket office and last admission at 7 p.m.; it closes on Good Friday, December 25, and January 1. To get the 1.5 to 2 hours the visit needs, I'd go in by 3 p.m. on regular days, or by 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. When checked on October 17, 2026, adult admission cost S/ 50 (the same for foreigners and Peruvians), S/ 30 for foreigners aged 7 to 18, and it was free for accompanied children under 7. The guided tour, optional and paid directly to the guide at the entrance, lasts about an hour, in seven languages; on your own, allow 1.5 to 2 hours.
Check access

## Plaza de Armas de Arequipa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-plaza-de-armas-de-arequipa
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The main square has at its center a fountain with the Tuturutú, the statue that personifies the city, and is surrounded by sillar portals: the Portal de Flores, the Municipalidad, and San Agustín. The Cathedral takes up the entire north side.
Check access

## Basílica Catedral de Arequipa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-basilica-catedral-de-arequipa
Arequipa · One to two hours
It occupies the north side of the Plaza de Armas, with a sillar facade of seventy columns and two towers. The present church is a neoclassical reconstruction after the fire of 1844; the towers fell in the earthquakes of 1868 and 2001 and were rebuilt. Inside are a Belgian organ, one of the largest in South America, and a wooden pulpit carved in the Buisine-Rigot workshop in Lille. The Cathedral museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., with the entrance on the side, on calle Santa Catalina; check at the door for the ticket price and how the route is run.
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## Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-iglesia-de-la-compania-de-jesus
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The Jesuit complex at the corner of calles General Morán and Álvarez Thomas, beside the Plaza de Armas, was built between 1590 and 1698. The facade is a carpet of shallow sillar reliefs, a technique imposed by the porous stone, and the interior holds gilded retablos, a carved wooden pulpit from the 17th century, and more than 60 paintings of the Cusco school, with works by Bernardo Bitti and Diego de la Puente. The former sacristy houses the San Ignacio chapel, with polychrome murals, and the cloisters stand next to the church.
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## Museo Santuarios Andinos
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-museo-santuarios-andinos
Arequipa · One to two hours
An archaeological museum of the Universidad Católica de Santa María, at calle La Merced 110, created in 1996 to display the material from Inca capac cocha offerings found on the region's volcanoes. The best-known piece is Juanita, the Inca girl sacrificed on the Ampato volcano between about 1440 and 1480 and found in September 1995; the collection also includes the mummies Urpicha and Sarita. The Juanita display may vary through the year: before you go, confirm with the museum whether she will be on view on your date, along with the hours and the ticket.
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## Mirador de Yanahuara
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-mirador-de-yanahuara
Up to half an hour
A gallery of sillar arches beside the square and the church of Yanahuara, from 1750, with a view of the city and Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu behind it. It is across the Chili River from the center.
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## Barrio de San Lázaro
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-barrio-de-san-lazaro
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The oldest neighborhood in Arequipa, next to the center, keeps narrow lanes and houses of the kind built before the great reconstructions in sillar. It makes a short walk between the center and the river.
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## Mercado San Camilo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-mercado-san-camilo
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The city's oldest supply market, three blocks from the Plaza de Armas. It operated outdoors from 1881, got its present building in 1938, and was declared a Monumental Historic Heritage site in 1987. Through the 20th century it was the city's main supply point, and a morning stroll shows the variety of produce that arrives from the valley and the highlands.
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## Museo de Arte Virreinal de Santa Teresa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-museo-de-arte-virreinal-de
Arequipa · One to two hours
The Discalced Carmelite monastery, at calle Melgar 303, was founded in 1710 and opened part of its spaces to the public in 2001. Its twelve rooms display more than 300 works of painting, sculpture, and furniture from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and some areas remain in use by the nuns at certain hours. Check the current hours before the visit.
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## Convento de La Recoleta
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-convento-de-la-recoleta
Arequipa · One to two hours
A Franciscan convent founded in 1648, on the right bank of the Chili (jirón La Recoleta 117), open to the public since 1978. The buildings mix styles from successive reconstructions, and the library holds more than twenty thousand books, some four centuries old.
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## Iglesia de San Francisco
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-iglesia-de-san-francisco
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The complex at the corner of calles Zela and San Francisco brings together the Franciscan church of 1569, the convent, and the temple of the Third Order. The church, with a single nave in sillar and brick, has a stone choir in mestizo style and a silver altar frontal on the main altar.
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## Casa del Moral
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-casa-del-moral
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
A Baroque casona of the 18th century in the center, now an exhibition gallery, showing the rooms of an Arequipa house of the period and furniture from the time.
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## Casa Tristán del Pozo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-casa-tristan-del-pozo
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
One of the most complete sillar casonas in the center, built in the 18th century on calle San Francisco, with several courtyards. It is now the seat of a bank branch, and access to the courtyards depends on the bank's hours.
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## Puente Bolognesi
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-puente-bolognesi
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
The bridge of sillar arches over the Chili River, near the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, was begun in 1577 and completed in 1608. It is one of the oldest in the city and the walking route between the center and La Recoleta.
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## Ruta del Sillar
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-ruta-del-sillar
Half a day or more
The Añashuayco quarries, in the Cerro Colorado district, at the foot of Chachani, show where the city's stone comes from: walls of cut stone and, nearby, the Culebrillas ravine, with petroglyphs. It lies outside the urban area; go on a tour or by a prearranged taxi, and check whether local entrance fees are included.
Check access

## Molino de Sabandía
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-molino-de-sabandia
Arequipa · Up to half an hour
An old water-driven stone mill, about three centuries old, in the Sabandía district, in the campiña southeast of the city. The visit is short and is usually combined with other campiña stops, such as the Mansión del Fundador; check hours and ticket.
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## Mansión del Fundador
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-mansion-del-fundador
Arequipa · One to two hours
A manor house in Huasacache, in the campiña, about 20 km from the Plaza de Armas according to the house itself, on the lands that Garcí Manuel de Carbajal gathered after the founding. Restored, it is furnished with period pieces and paintings and has its own chapel. You visit by taxi or on a tour of the campiña; check hours and ticket.
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## Mirador de Carmen Alto
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/arequipa/#g-lugar-mirador-de-carmen-alto
Up to half an hour
A viewpoint in the Cayma district, listed by PromPerú among the viewpoints with views of the city. It works as a mid-afternoon taxi stop, before continuing to the Mirador de Yanahuara at the end of the day, for those who want another angle on the city and the volcanoes.
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**Arequipa: how do I get from the airport to the center?**
Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP) is about 8 km from the center, in the Zamácola area. There is no regular public transportation between the airport and the center: use a taxi from the airport's official companies or the transfer arranged with your lodging, and confirm the fare before getting in the car.

**Arequipa: how many days should I plan?**
I'd stay two full days in Arequipa. The first goes to the sillar center: the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral museum, the Compañía, the Museo Santuarios Andinos, and the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, which needs at least an afternoon. The second crosses the city from the Mercado San Camilo to the Museo de Arte Virreinal de Santa Teresa, passes through San Lázaro and over the Puente Bolognesi to La Recoleta, and ends with lunch at a picantería and sunset at the Mirador de Yanahuara. With a third day, I'd head out to the Ruta del Sillar in the morning and to the Sabandía campiña in the afternoon. Colca Canyon is another trip: I'd add two more days, with a night in the valley, rather than trying to go and return the same day.

**Arequipa: can I go to Colca Canyon and back in one day?**
By bus or car, Chivay, the valley's main town, at 3,635 m, is about 3.5 hours from Arequipa, and the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint is about another hour; condors usually fly in the early morning. I'd do it in two days, with a night in the valley, rather than going and coming back the same day, and I'd first spend at least two days in Arequipa, at 2,328 m: the road crosses the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, at an average altitude of 4,300 m. The tourist ticket (boleto turístico) is charged apart from transport: PromPerú gave a reference price of S/ 70 for foreigners, S/ 20 for Peruvians, and S/ 5 for Peruvian students (checked October 17, 2026); confirm the current amount with the operator.

**Arequipa: what are the hours and prices at the Monasterio de Santa Catalina?**
The published hours are Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m., and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 8 p.m., with the ticket office and last admission at 7 p.m.; it closes on Good Friday, December 25, and January 1. To get the 1.5 to 2 hours the visit needs, I'd go in by 3 p.m. on regular days, or by 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. When checked on October 17, 2026, adult admission cost S/ 50 (the same for foreigners and Peruvians), S/ 30 for foreigners aged 7 to 18, and it was free for accompanied children under 7, with discounts and promotional days reserved for Peruvians; bring your passport or a document that proves your category. The guided tour, optional and paid directly to the guide at the entrance, lasts about an hour, in seven languages.

**Arequipa: when is the best time to go?**
April to November; the city's scant rain is concentrated from January to March, and in the Colca valley the Chivay weather station records more than 100 mm a month in January and February. The dry winter, from June to August, is the season of the clearest skies for seeing the volcanoes, and it coincides with the Fiestas Patrias on July 28 and 29 and the city's anniversary on August 15, holidays that boost domestic tourism.

**Arequipa: is it safe, and how should I take a taxi?**
The British government points to theft and street robbery as a problem in Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, and other large cities in Peru: stay alert in public places and when withdrawing cash at ATMs, and do not leave valuables in view. The risk most cited for visitors involves fake taxi drivers, sometimes linked to express kidnappings at night; use a taxi called by phone, app, or through your lodging, and do not take a car on the street. At terminals, use the registered taxis. Arequipa has also seen protests; avoid crowds and follow the local news.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 2 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/arequipa/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/arequipa/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/arequipa.md