City Tour & Countryside

Description City Tour Arequipa & Countryside

With the combined tour “City Tour Arequipa and Countryside”, you will be able to know the historical center of the White City of Arequipa, but also enjoy its countryside and viewpoints. With the Misti tour Arequipa is a combination that will catch you from beginning to end!

The city tours Arequipa is located on the banks of the Chili River and rises at the foot of the great volcano El Misti (5,822 meters above sea level) whose last eruption dates back to 1784. The center of the city is the Plaza de Armas, dominated by the Cathedral, built in 1656 and rebuilt in the 19th century after a fire (1844) and a devastating earthquake (1868). Around the Plaza de Armas, the streets develop a checkerboard pattern, according to colonial custom.

The Cathedral Basilica of Arequipa city tour, is considered one of the first religious monuments of the seventeenth century in Arequipa. It was built with ignimbrite (stone of volcanic origin), and brick vaults; it is the main sanctuary of the city occupying the entire north side of the Plaza de Armas. Built entirely of ashlar, it exhibits a neo-Renaissance style with a certain Gothic influence. Its façade is made up of seventy columns with Corinthian capitals, three portals and two large lateral arches.

The Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena or Convent of Santa Catalina, is a religious tourist complex located in the historic center of Arequipa city tour. The charm of this citadel lies in the solidity and plasticity of its volumes and the beauty that master builders and master builders achieved in the architecture of these enclosures. The current building treasures splendid pieces of art, such as a baroque altar of carved and gilded wood, of a body and three streets, which adorns the chapel, and several paintings of the Cusco school.

The Mirador de Yanahuara is one of the tourist attraction with it, tours Yanahuara built in the nineteenth century, is formed by a series of ashlar arches in which the words of illustrious arequipeños have been engraved. This viewpoint has a privileged view of the city and the Misti volcano.

From the top of the Mirador de Sachaca, you can see the extensive Arequipa countryside, the old and modern houses of the city. This 19-meter high tower was built on top of the hill that used to house the old Sachaca cemetery, which was remodeled in 1996. The viewpoint has five floors. From its terrace you can see the Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu volcanoes. On the third floor is the statue of a White Christ Redeemer made of marble 2.5 meters high, which was sent from France in 1969.

Mirador de Carmen Alto, is located in the valley of Chilina. Its terraces with Inca influence stand out. These terraces are considered one of the largest and most important works of infrastructure and adaptation to the landscape of Pre-Columbian America. Nowadays these terraces are still used as cultivation areas as an experiential tourism in the valley of Chilina.

Enjoy the City Tour Arequipa and Countryside

MAIN POINTS OF VISIT

• Arequipa (2,335 meters above sea level)
• Cathedral Basilica of Arequipa
• Santa Catalina Monastery
• Yanahuara viewpoint (2,343 masl)
• Viewpoint of Sachaca
• Carmen Alto Viewpoint
• Tingo Spa
• Founder’s Mansion
• Sabandia Mill

Day 1: Historic Center – Plaza De Armas – Cathedral – Mirador De Yanahuara – Sachaca – Carmen Alto – Molino De Sabandia

• 08.45 hrs We will pick you up at your hotel which is located in the circuit of the main square.
• 09.00 hrs This circuit begins with a visit to the Cathedral Basilica (1656) of neo classical style and with a facade decorated with 70 columns and 2 towers.
• Then, the Convent of the Company of Jesus where the highlights are the polychrome Chapel of San Ignacio and its cloisters with carved ashlar arches. Finally visit the Monastery of Santa Catalina (1580), a citadel built in ashlar with an area of 20 thousand m2.
• Leaving the city center, we will go to the traditional village of Paucarpata, where we will appreciate the pre-Inca terraces currently used by farmers in the area, visit the church of Santa Ana and its main square.
• We will move to the district of Sabandia, where is located the hydraulic stone mill, construction of the year 1785 (one of the oldest in this area), made with the typical white sillar, volcanic tuff made stone and that is the reason why Arequipa city tours has the nickname of “White City”.
• The mill has characteristics of solid buttresses and rustic balconies and from here you can appreciate the immense snow-capped volcanoes that surround the city of Arequipa, highlighting the figure of its tutelary volcano, the Misti (5,800 meters).
• To finish the tour, we move to the Founder’s Mansion, built in the seventeenth century on the edge of a cliff and was ordered to build by the founder of the city tours Arequipa, Manuel Garcia de Carbajal. It has stately features, a hallway with a vaulted ceiling and a large courtyard that ends in a classic chapel. Walking through this circuit you will appreciate the typical farms, with crops where the greenery stands out in its different ranges, typical characteristic of the Arequipa countryside.
• 13.15 hrs Approx. arrival to the city, we will leave you near the Plaza de Armas.