A Journey Through Peru - Part 3 - Arequipa, the White City

Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city after Lima, with a population of nearly 1.2 million people and a fascinating place to start to acclimatise to the high altitudes we would encounter over the 10 days or so, peaking at nearly 5,000m on the next leg of our journey. The city sits in the verdant Chili River valley in the Andes and is surrounded by three major volcanoes and high-altitude deserts.

Chili River Valley


Arequipa is also called “the White City” partly because of the white coloured sillar stone used for the buildings. Sillar is a lightweight and porous volcanic rock that can easily be cut into regular building blocks…
Arequipa Basilica Cathedral, late afternoon


…or worked into intricate carvings
Iglesia de Yanahuara

Within Arequipa the Santa Catalina Convent is a citadel within the city and is a warren of brightly coloured houses and streets, which at its peak, was home to 300 nuns. Despite the number of tourists it feels a very tranquil place and it is ideal to amble around slowly since we need to make sure we don't do anything too strenuous before our bodies have acclimatised to the altitude.

The colourful walls of the convent


A water fountain within the Santa Catalina Convent

There is an ingenious outdoor laundry where water can be diverted from a central channel into large urns cut in half. There must be a joke about dirty habits here somewhere.

The Santa Catalina Convent Laundry

At sunset we make our way to a rooftop bar overlooking the Playa de Armas to watch the Basilica Cathedral turn from white to glowing gold, along with the volcanoes behind it. After three days of sweaty activity in the Amazon it is very pleasant sitting in a bar with a beer in one hand and a camera in the other watching the cathedral transform.

Arequipa Basilica Cathedral at sunset


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