This guide is for you if you have half a day in Arequipa and want to spend it in the old centre. It helps you choose between a morning and an afternoon start, decide how long to give the monastery, avoid the weeks when the centre is packed, and fit the tour around the rest of your stay.
What you are looking at
The historic centre of Arequipa has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2000. Most of it is built of sillar, a white or pink volcanic stone. UNESCO describes a meeting of European design with the methods of local masons: thick walls, vaults, arcades and courtyards, and Baroque fronts carved with a strong indigenous hand.
The heart of it is the Plaza de Armas, with its arcades, the town hall and the Cathedral. The church and cloisters of La Compañía stand just off the square. Earthquakes run through the story too. UNESCO notes that the big ones mark turning points in how the city was built, and the ground is still restless. Much of what you see was rebuilt more than once, in the same stone.
When to go
The centre works in any month, but two things change the day: cloud and crowds.
The view from Yanahuara depends on El Misti being clear. On a cloudy day the volcano may hide. The square, the monastery and the church are the same in any weather.
August is the city's anniversary month, with the Corso de la Amistad parade on 15 August and many events run by the city council, a lot of them free. The biggest crowds come in the days from 12 to 15 August. If your dates fall then, book your room early and expect a fuller centre.
Santa Catalina keeps special hours during Holy Week, at Christmas and on other religious feasts, and at certain times of day guided visits are stopped to keep the silence. Check the monastery's official site before you go.
Morning or afternoon
You are collected at 07:00 or 13:00. The order is the same either way: the Plaza de Armas first, then about an hour and three quarters in Santa Catalina, La Compañía, and Yanahuara last. Four hours later you are back at your hotel, or at a table.
The morning start suits you if you want lunch at the end. You finish at about 11:00, and your driver can leave you at a picantería instead of your hotel. Tell your driver on the day.
The afternoon start puts you at Yanahuara at around 16:00. The viewpoint is a good place to watch the light change on the city and the volcanoes, at sunrise or at sunset, so the later slot has its own reward.
Because the car is yours, the time is yours too. If the monastery holds you, stay longer and cut the church short. If you would rather sit in the square, do that.
Inside Santa Catalina
This is the stop that needs planning. Allow at least an hour and a half inside. It is bigger than it looks from the street.
The convent was founded on 10 September 1579 and covers some 20,000 square metres: a walled town with its own streets, squares, cloisters and kitchens. In the middle of the 18th century more than 300 nuns and servant women lived there. It stayed closed to the world until 1970, when part of it opened to visitors. A small community of nuns still lives in the northern section, apart from the visit.
A few things to look for:
- The streets are named after Spanish cities. Calle Toledo is painted a deep red, and Calle Sevilla has geraniums.
- The walls mix white sillar from Chachani with pink stone from Misti.
- The Cloister of Los Naranjos holds a gallery of more than a hundred colonial paintings.
- The old laundry still has its row of twenty clay jars.
More than 300,000 people visit each year, so it is rarely empty. The entrance is not included in the tour; you pay it at the door. Local guides work inside and can take you round for a separate fee, which helps if you want the stories behind the rooms.
Yanahuara
The last stop is about 2 kilometres from the centre. The viewpoint is a row of 19th-century sillar arches, with lines by well-known Arequipeños carved into the stone. On a clear day you see the city, its farmland and all three volcanoes: Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. Around it are a church and a few steep cobbled lanes of old sillar houses, worth ten minutes on foot.
On your own or with a driver
Be honest with yourself about what you need. The square, La Compañía and the monastery are a few steps apart, and you can walk them alone with a map. Yanahuara is the only stop out of the centre, and a short taxi ride reaches it.
What the private car adds is ease: collection at your door, no waiting for taxis, a driver nearby while you walk, and an end point you choose on the day. It also means nobody else sets the pace. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
Lunch after the tour
If you finish at a picantería, you are eating at an institution. Peru's Ministry of Culture declared Arequipa's picanterías part of the nation's cultural heritage in April 2014. Order rocoto relleno, a pepper stuffed with seasoned meat and cheese and then baked, or chupe de camarones, a shrimp soup with potato, maize, egg and cheese. Ocopa and solterito are the usual starters. If you see a red flag at a doorway, it means chicha de guiñapo is on sale: a lightly fermented drink made from a local maize.
What to bring
- Sun cream and a hat. The sun is strong at this height, even in the city.
- Comfortable shoes. You are on your feet for most of the four hours.
- Water, and some local cash for the monastery and small purchases.
Arequipa is at about 2,300 metres, lower than Cusco, but still high. Take it easy on your first day, and this tour is a gentle way to spend it.
Who it suits
It is a good first look at Arequipa before the Colca Canyon, and the walking is short: your driver waits nearby. If you also want the countryside, four hours is not enough. The full-day Arequipa tour covers the centre and adds Sabandía mill and the Founder's Mansion, and the countryside tour does the farmland on its own. For how all our Arequipa days fit together, read our guide to day trips from Arequipa.
Groups of more than 16 travel in two vehicles on one booking. Message us and we will price it.
Questions people ask
Can we skip the monastery?
Yes. The itinerary can change on the day, so tell your driver and spend the time elsewhere in the centre.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. See our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Pick the morning if you want lunch at the end, the afternoon if you want the late light at Yanahuara. Pick-up details and what is included are on the Arequipa city tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
