Arequipay Backpackers House

looking for food but finding more on the way...

by richiecdisc

The architecture of Arequipa is among the finest in South America and a walk down any street will provide great rewards but the Santa Catalina Convent will take a full afternoon to explore. One of the great joys of travel for me is trying the different foods of that culture. When I look back on all the trips I have done, I am surprised that often what I remember best is a particular meal I have had or some fruit or street snack I came across. But it’s not just the food I remember; it’s the experience surrounding it. Peru offered a variety of foods and Arequipa a particularly interesting city in this regard with many items not offered elsewhere in the country. Another great thing about food for me is it brings me to parts of a city I might otherwise not see. I had read about a restaurant on the outskirts of Arequipa and one fine afternoon decided to walk to this nearby village to watch the sunset. They had a mirador or viewpoint from which you could see the impressive volcanoes that provide a dramatic backdrop to the already stunning city of Arequipa. We arrived in perfect time to not only see this but the charming square of this suburb resplendent with absolutely massive palm trees and a 500-year-old church. It was so magnificent we nearly forgot the reason for coming in the first place: the food. We quickly made our way to the restaurant and I was a bit disappointed to find a big fancy building. We had been to so many great little local places and that was what we expected, but went in just the same, as we were hungry. The food was supposed to be excellent and we had come so far, it would be silly to not splurge a little. It was nearly empty and appeared a wedding reception or birthday had just come to an end. We asked if it was still open and the waiter said to come in and he would see if the chef would prepare something. It was a beautiful place and we had the whole place to ourselves so we sat and looked over the extensive menu. It was a little expensive by Peruvian standards but really not too bad. They had a lot of specialties of the region that I had been looking for so it seemed a great choice of places to eat. (more below in Fondest Memory)

Majes Valley

by christian99

This is an excursion recommendable to people who want to see the coastal desert of Peru from the comfortable seat of a car. After a 2 and a half hour drive through the various landscapes of the desert, you arrive at the edge of a deep and green valley, like an oasis fed with water all year long by the Rio Majes. The colour contrast between the desert and the valley is thrilling. Within the valley, at an altitude of only 500 m (1650 ft), climate is tropical. Here you’ll have the opportunity to taste the best “camarones” (crayfish) of Arequipa. You can also visit the archeological site of Toro Muerto, which shows up the highest concentration of pre-Colombian petroglyphs of South America

La Catedral

by gt4715b

The city's main cathedral, located at the nothern end of the Plaza de Armas is notable for the fact that the two main towers collasped in the earthquake that occurred in 2001, but have since been restored.

own kitchen too!

by richiecdisc

In fact, each nun had her own little apartment, most with its own kitchen and up to four slaves. Though they were from rich families they were forced to renounce their wealth, but evidently not their wealthy ways. ;)

Arequipa!The white city

by p4trizi4

Arequipa, is the second city of Peru,and enjoys a great sunny weather the hole year. It has beautiful colonial buildings. It is located in one of most volcanic areas of south america.Best pace to get use to the altitude specially if you are planning to go to the highlands. Convent of Santa Catalina (looks like a small spanish town with only 20,000km2) Cotahuasi and Colca Canyon are worth to visit ,andean landscape and condor views are to enjoy . Arequipa food is incredible delicious, dont miss a rocoto relleno(chili paprika with meat ,vegetable saus,or adobo, spicy soup served as breakfast) .
Petroglifics of Toro Muerto andd the volcan valley with its 88 small volcanos are very interesting to visit.

Arequipa,main square, really beautiful!, made in sillar (white volcanic stone). It have resist many earthquakes.

Colca canyon. second deepest in the world.