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Day
9 (September 2, 2025) Arequipa
Before
This day will be entirely spent on exploring Arequipa's
tourist attractions.
We might consider visiting places a little further from the city
center, such as the Ruta del Sillar.
The points marked on the map are:
0- Hotel Conde de Lemos
1- Main Square
2- Santa Catalina Monastery
3- San Lazaro Neighborhood
4- Yanahuara Viewpoint
5- San Camilo Market
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After
And once again, we're awake around 3 AM, which forces us to kill time
in bed. The hotel breakfast opens at 6:30 AM, so we go downstairs
shortly after. We leave early, around 8 AM, for our first visit, the
furthest on our list: the Yanahuara viewpoint.
We cross a high bridge and walk through a park along the river
until we reach the Yanahuara neighborhood. At the viewpoint, its
archway stands out.
We go down to the viewpoint itself, which is a kind of terrace, where
the craft vendors are just starting to set up their stalls. The views
include the historic center, with the two towers of the cathedral, and
the Misty volcano, which is the main highlight.
The other two volcanoes can also be seen from here, but with more difficulty.
We rest for a while in the beautiful square next to the viewpoint's archway, sitting on a bench to watch life go by.
We come back to the hotel to rest and, a little later, wgo for a stroll
through the city center. Eva stayed in one of the cloisters from the
previous day, taking a coca tea, while I go to the San Camilo Market to
finish exploring it.
When I'm back to meet Eva, I find out how to climb to the upper level of the cloisters, which offer different views.
Walking back to the hotel, we meet an elderly woman dressed in
traditional clothing with two baby alpacas. She asks for donations for
taking photos with her, so we accept to be able to pet the animals.
Around noon, we set off for the San Lázaro neighborhood, the
oldest in the city, where the first houses built of sillar, a white
volcanic stone typical of the area, are still preserved.
This neighborhood also has several picanterías, which are
typical Arequipa restaurants, and even though we had planned to eat
after our visit, we do it first at Picantería del Mundo. A noodle
casserole with churrasco for me and lamb ribs for Eva. The rations are
huge. We paid 99 soles in total, about 24 euros.
With our stomachs full, we begin our visit to the San Lazaro
neighborhood with Mundo Alpaca, a manufacturer of alpaca garments that
offers a free tour showcasing the history of this textile, a few
alpacas that we were allowed to feed, and, just before the shop itself,
a workshop where we could watch two women weaving in the traditional
way.
Then we pass by the Church of San Lazaro and wander through the streets of white houses, stepping back in time.
With that, all that remains is the visit to the Santa Catalina
Monastery to complete what we wanted to see in Arequipa. So we kill
time until 6:00 PM for our evening visit.
The monastery feels much larger inside than its walls suggested
from the outside. We pass through several cloisters, all decorated with
plants and ancient murals.
The visit feels mostly like wandering through a village with red
walls. It's still active, and behind a door we can open, we hear the
nuns chanting, and we feel so out of place that just run away from it.
We also see some nuns in different spots, all of whom seem to be in a hurry.
With that, all that's left is to pack up and go to bed early so
we can get up at 5:00 AM tomorrow for our early flight to Cusco.
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