Destination two · The white city
Twenty thousand square metres of streets, courtyards and cells painted cobalt blue and burnt orange, closed to the world for four centuries. It is the single most beautiful place in Arequipa and it deserves two unhurried hours.
Go late in the afternoon, when the walls take the light and the crowds have gone.
Arequipa’s picanterías are old family kitchens serving one great dish a day: rocoto relleno, adobo on Sunday mornings, chupe de camarones with river prawns.
Eat lunch, not dinner — that is when they cook. And order the chicha de jora even if only to try it once.
Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, terraced from top to bottom, and the most reliable place on earth to watch Andean condors ride the morning thermals at eye level.
Stay the night in Chivay or Yanque rather than doing it as a day trip from Arequipa — the 3 AM departures are not worth it, and the thermal baths are.
Stay inside the historic centre — everything worth seeing is within fifteen minutes on foot.
Historic centre · Five stars
A 16th-century convent turned into sixteen rooms of white sillar, candlelight and deep silence. The most beautiful place to sleep in Arequipa, and worth one night even if you stay elsewhere.
Historic centre · Our pick
The best location in the city, right on the Plaza de Armas. Comfortable, central and easy, with a rooftop looking at the cathedral.
Plaza de Armas · Five stars
A boutique five-star right on the main square, with sillar-stone suites and a rooftop terrace framing the cathedral and the volcanoes. The view alone is worth it.
Yanque · One night
Low stone lodges with thermal pools and no wifi to speak of. Exactly what you want before the condors.
Lunch is the serious meal here. Book the picanterías, and go hungry.
Yanahuara · Lunch, always
The picantería everyone in Arequipa names first. Go at midday, go hungry, share everything.
Historic centre · Dinner or lunch
Gastón Acurio’s Arequipa house: regional cooking — rocoto relleno, adobo, river prawns — done with a fine-dining hand, in a colonial courtyard.
Beside Santa Catalina · Book ahead
A warm little dining room a few steps from the monastery, cooking Arequipeño classics beautifully. Our favourite dinner in the centre.
San Lázaro · Dinner
Alpaca on a volcanic stone, in a house with an Eiffel-designed staircase.