Santa Catalina Convent
Built in 1579, this spectacular convent, where a handful of cloistered nuns still live, is a brilliant and wonderfully serene work of architecture; its narrow passageways and patios seem to transport visitors to Andalusia in southern Spain. To visit it adequately requires at least 3 or 4 hours. It can also be visited at night, when it is gorgeously illuminated and seductively quiet.

Plaza de Armas / Centro
Arequipa’s elegant main square is perhaps the loveliest in Peru. At night it is illuminated, which makes seeing it at the end of a day’s visit to Arequipa a delight. Dominated by tall palm trees, arcaded porticoes on three sides and the neoclassical 17th-century Cathedral, it is the centerpiece of the White City’s colonial downtown. It’s easy to walk the entire centro, which consists almost entirely of buildings made from sillar (white volcanic stone).

Museo Santuarios Andinos
This excellent small museum is home to Juanita, the Ice Maiden discovered on the Ampato volcano summit. The perfectly preserved 13-year-old girl was sacrificed by Inca priests more than 5 centuries ago.

Casa del Moral & Colonial Houses
Arequipa’s colonial manor houses are outstanding, particularly Casa del Moral, built in 1733 by a Spanish knight. Handsome furnishings, carved wooden doors, and Cusco School oil paintings decorate large salons, built around a beautiful courtyard. From the rooftop are great views of Arequipa and the surrounding volcanoes. Other beautiful sillar mansions include: Casa Ricketts (also called Casa Tristán del Pozo), at San Francisco 108, today the offices of Banco Continental; and Casa Arróspide (also called Casa Iriberry), at the corner of Santa Catalina 101 and San Agustín.

Colonial churches
La Compañía (corner of Álvarez Thomas and General Morán), a stunning 17th-century Jesuit church with an elaborate (Plateresque) facade carved of sillar stone and 2 lovely courtyards next door; Iglesia de San Francisco (Zela 103), a 16th-century with a handsome silver altar and vaulted ceiling; Iglesia de San Agustín (corner of San Agustín and Sucre), with a stunning baroque façade and unfortunate new belltower; Iglesia de Santo Domingo (at Santo Domingo and Piérola), with handsome 1734 cloisters; and Iglesia de La Merced (La Merced 303), built in 1607, with yet another impressive carved sillar facade and colonial library; and Monasterio de la Recoleta (Recoleta 117), founded in 1648, a serene Franciscan convent with lovely cloisters and a small museum of pre-Inca culture and Amazonian artifacts.

Sabandía
This relaxed village, known for its country-style restaurants, has two principal attractions: a large stone 17th- century molino, or water-powered mill, and La Mansión del Fundador, one of the most important sillar mansions in Arequipa. The elegant mansion, once the property of the founder of Arequipa, Don García Manuel de Carbajal, features amazing vaulted ceilings and original antique paintings and furnishings, and is a 15-minute cab ride outside of town, in Huasacache.

For additional information on Where to Go in Arequipa, you can write to travel@casa-andina.com