Arequipa Colca Canyon

Arequipa Colca Canyon–Live the “White City” of Arequipa or La Ciudad Blanca. Lying in the shadow of three volcanoes, including the perfectly-symmetrical El Misti, the city was built using white volcanic rock called Sillar which gives the city its name, today the white walls volcanic origin rocks are still visible on the old buildings.

Guarded by not one but three dramatic volcanoes, the city enjoys a resplendent, of seismically precarious setting, earthquakes regularly wrack this region, the last big one causing significant damage in 2001. Fortunately, the city’s architecture, a formidable ensemble of baroque buildings grafted out of the local white volcanic sillar rock, has so far withstood most of what mother earth has thrown at it. In 2000 the city’s central core earned a well-deserved Unesco World Heritage listing and the sight of the gigantic cathedral, with the ethereal image of 5825m El Misti rising behind it, is worth a visit alone.

Pretty cityscapes aside, Arequipa has played a fundamental role in Peru’s gastronomic renaissance; classic spicy dishes such as rocoto Relleno (stuffed spicy red peppers), chupe de Camarones (prawn chowder) and ocopa (boiled potato in a creamy, spicy sauce) best enjoyed in the city’s communal picantería restaurants, all hail from here. Food in Arequipa is awesome! The picanterías (local restaurants) of the White City are the modern expression of an ancestral custom in the region that merges rural life with food and dining. These traditional restaurants still cook over a wood fire, a natural source of heat that intensifies the aromas of the food’s seasonings. If you stumble this city sometime in the future, you need to visit one of the local Picanterias, you’ll love its food.

Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and the best place in South America to see giant condors soar overhead. Suiting its reputation as an outdoor paradise, Arequipa also enjoys perfect weather: more than 300 days a year of sunshine, huge blue skies, and low humidity–Arequipa Colca Canyon…Let us take you there.!