Arequipa is Peru’s second largest and one of its most Spanish cities. One of its highlights is its historical center, with its churches and residences built with sillar stone, product of the nearby volcanoes. Founded on August 15th, 1540, on the valley of the Chili river, it is a luminous city, with a mild climate and one the most renowned gastronomies in the country.

Other highlights include its beautiful churches with very heavily decorated facades, such as the Cathedral and the temple of the Compañia de Jesus, and its convents, such as San Francisco and specially, Santa Catalina. In the Santa Catalina Convent you may walk through its colorful streets named after Spanish cities and admire its patios and gardens, the rooms where the nuns lived, and its great collection of mural paintings and religious art. The great historical treasures of Arequipa’s center motivated its designation as a World Heritage by the UNESCO.

Arequipa is also the starting point to travel to the Colca Canyon, one of the world’s deepest natural accidents, which can be reached after 4 hours of journey by car.