Arequipa is a beautiful city that gets added to a lot of Peru itineraries. While it’s not as famous as Cusco, it’s still worth a visit in my opinion. While many visitors will use Arequipa as a base for exploring the rest of the region (most notably the nearby Colca Canyon), I think the city deserves one full day of your itinerary.
I spent a few days in Arequipa. Some days were spent relaxing (and enjoying my birthday), but I spent some time exploring the top sights of the city as well. So, while I haven’t done this exact itinerary, I have done everything in this itinerary. If I only had one day in Arequipa, here’s what I would recommend.
One Day in Arequipa, Peru
This is not the only way to spend one day in Arequipa, but it’s what I would do. It focuses on the top sights while also giving a little bit of freedom to customize your afternoon based on your own preferences.
9:00 – San Camilo Market
Start your day off with a stroll through the San Camilo Market. Like so many cities in South America, this market is where so many locals will do their shopping. You’ll find stalls of fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, and so much more. You’ll also find stalls selling some treats. When I visited, locals absolutely crowded two stands for papas rellanas and salteñas. If you’re looking for a small snack in your day, this is a great one.
A visit to the market doesn’t take long (unless you actually do some shopping), but I still think it’s worth your time to take a quick stroll through the market and get a glimpse at daily life.
9:30 – San Catalina Convent
From the San Camilo Market, we’ll leave local life behind and head toward one of the most popular tourist sites in the city. Along the way, you’ll likely pass through Plaza de Armas, but don’t worry, we’ll return later to enjoy some people watching and the architecture surrounding it.
The San Catalina Convent has been a working convent for centuries and several nuns still live here, though nowhere near as many as there once was. On a visit, you’ll see many of the historic areas of this massive convent. The area that’s open to the public includes courtyards and several former rooms. Nowadays, the nuns spend their time sequestered in a separate part of the convent.
Your visit to the San Catalina Convent is self guided, but there are tour guides waiting just inside the convent for those who want to learn more. These guides are not included in your entrance fee, so be prepared to spend extra if you want to hire them.
That said, I went without a guide and still had a good experience. The convent has an app and although it is a bit clunky, it does provide a map and some basic information for each major stop. There are also plenty of informational signs at each stop to give even more context. For most visitors, combining the app with the provided signage should be enough.
Note that the San Catalina Convent is huge and at a minimum, I’d recommend setting aside an hour and a half for your visit, though you could easily spend two hours here.
11:00 – Plaza de Armas
In almost every city in South America, there is a main square and this is where so much happens in the city. It’s typically one of the prettiest parts of the city so tourists love it, but you’ll also find plenty of locals sitting and enjoying the scene. The main square is always a great place to sit and people watch. Arequipa is no exception.
You’ll walk through the Plaza de Armas throughout the day as you make your way around the city, but I recommend budgeting a little time to just sit and relax. Yes, you’ll have vendors approach you to try to sell you things, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Cusco, where saying no because exhausting.
Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas is surrounded by restaurants, shops, tourist agencies, and its main cathedral. The cathedral is beautiful, but I’ll admit that I was too cheap to pay the entrance fee to go in. I was content to sit on the steps of the cathedral and watch what was happening around the square.
Enhance your visit by getting an ice cream. I really liked the queso helado. Technically, this translates to cheese ice cream, but there is no cheese. It tastes more like vanilla ice cream and is topped with cinnamon. You’ll find ladies selling it out of buckets on the sidewalks surrounding the main square and I recommend trying it at least once.
12:00 – Lunch
I’m often terrible at including lunch stops in my itineraries, but I’ve been trying to do a better job as I’ve been traveling in South America. So once you’ve had your fill with Plaza de Armas, head out and try to find some lunch. There’s no shortage of restaurants in this area of Arequipa so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something that looks good to you.
1:00 – Alpaca World
After lunch, head over to Alpaca World. This is a free museum and teaches you about the importance of alpacas in the Andean society. You’ll get a bit of information about llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, but the highlight for many is getting up close with the alpacas.
Inside the museum are a few alpacas and workers will occasionally give out plants for the tourists to feed the alpacas. Even without the tourists, it seems like all the alpacas want to do is eat, but that’s ok.
Beyond the alpacas, there’s other displays. I enjoyed the display that talked about how the alpaca wool is used to make the yarn for weaving. Not only are their signs explaining the process but local weavers are also on site demonstrating how they make their beautiful textiles.
2:00 – Traveler’s Choice
All travelers are different so I think that it’s important to give a little freedom in the itinerary. For the next few hours, it’s traveler’s choice. You can decide how you want to spend your time, based on your own interests. Not sure what to do? Here’s a few suggestions.
Walk Through Arequipa’s Old Town – There are many streets surrounding Plaza de Armas and all are filled with restaurants, shops, and more. Take some time to just wander these picturesque streets to see what you can find.
MUCEN Arequipa – This small museum is free and houses a collection of art, ceramics, and coins. This only takes 20 or 30 minutes to visit, so make sure you don’t just rely on this small art museum to fill up your time, but it can be a nice place to visit.
Museo Santuarios Andios – This is the big archaeology museum in Arequipa and is famous for holding the remains of Juanita, an Incan girl who was sacrificed hundreds of years ago. I skipped this museum since I had seen something very similar in the archeology museum in Salta, Argentina.
Museo Arqueológico UNSA – This free archaeology museum is part of the university and can be a budget alternative to the Museo Santuarios Andios. That said, I tried to visit and while the sign said open, the main gate was closed, so I ended up skipping this.
4:00 – Yanahuara Viewpoint
As you start to wrap up your day, head to one of the highest points in the city for a nice view. The Yanahuara Viewpoint is nice, though I think the view of the surrounding mountains is better than the view of the city, and can be a great place to watch sunset.
But don’t just stop at the viewpoint. Take a stroll down the picturesque streets and enjoy a slightly different area of Arequipa.
The rest of the evening is yours. Stay and watch the sunset in Yanahuara, find a good restaurant, people watch in one of the plazas, or head back to your hotel to relax. The choice is yours.
Is One Day in Arequipa Enough?
I think that one day in Arequipa is a good place to start. There are more museums in Arequipa and if you spent two full days in the city, I think you’d still be able to find just enough to to. But for fast paced travelers and those that are short on time, I’d give yourself just one full day to explore Arequipa.
With More Time
If you have more time in Arequipa, there’s many more museums that you can visit. You had to make a choice for your afternoon, so spend some time visiting the other museums. Arequipa is also a great city to just relax. Stroll the streets and people watch in Plaza de Armas.
You can also consider day trips from Arequipa. There are numerous tourism agencies throughout the city that will be happy to help you book whichever excursion you’d like. One of the most popular is the Colca Canyon. I visited on a two day trek where we hiked into the canyon, spent the night, and then hiked back out, but there are also day trip options that will take you to some of the best viewpoints of the canyon.
Getting Around Arequipa
Once you get to the Plaza de Armas and its surroundings, I found Arequipa to be very walkable. The longest walk was to to Yanahuara, but I still didn’t think that was bad.
Note that both the airport and the bus station are a bit far from Plaza de Armas. I’d recommend using a taxi or Uber to reach both of these locations.
Final Thoughts
I’m not a huge fan of cities in South America and generally prefer smaller towns. Arequipa is one of the first cities that I’ve actually felt like I enjoyed. I really enjoyed that Arequipa had a balance of things to do, without feeling overwhelming, but also felt like a great place to just relax. So, regardless of what type of traveler you are, I recommend adding one day in Arequipa to your Peru itinerary.
