Arequipa, the commercial hub of southern Peru, may well be the country’s most elegant and romantic city. Like the other great coastal cities of Trujillo and Lima, Arequipa was founded shortly after the Spanish conquest and has a wealth of convents, churches, homes, and fine art to prove it. But Arequipa is more relaxed and genteel, and constructed entirely of white sillar, a white and porous volcanic stone that gleams under the bright desert sun.

Arequipa has the most stunning Plaza de Armas in all of Peru, teeming with palm trees, framed by volcanoes, and graced by the huge neoclassical cathedral. Down the street, light shifts delicately across the arches, streets, and homes inside of the 400-year-old Santa Catalina Monastery, a city-within-a-city that could have been lifted right out of southern Spain.

Arequipa is for lovers, but it is also for adventurers. One of the three volcanoes that tower above the city, Chachani, is probably the most attainable 6,000-meter mountain. A bit farther away lie some of the country’s most extraordinary landscapes, including high-altitude deserts, a magical place called the Valley of the Volcanoes, and two of the world’s deepest canyons—the Cotahuasi and the Colca. The better known of these, the Colca, is only four hours away and is an unforgettable experience.

Though best known for its condors, what is most remarkable about Colca is a string of villages perched on both sides of the canyon rim. The canyon was only connected to the modern world in the late 1970s, and villagers adhere to their centuries-old ways of life. This is one of the most spectacular, and safe, places in Peru for trekking and mountain biking—rafting is also possible, especially lower down on the Río Majes.

The Collagua people occupied the Arequipa area for millennia, as evidenced by the extensive terracing improved by the Incas. But the name for Arequipa apparently comes from Inca Mayta Cápac, who reportedly arrived at present-day Arequipa with his army and uttered the Quechua phrase ari-que-pay, meaning “yes, stay here.” After conquering the area in the 15th century, the Incas began the practice of sacrificing children atop the area’s highest volcanoes. Juanita, the mummy of a 13-year-old girl, captured worldwide attention in 1995 when she was discovered atop Volcano Ampato at 6,380 meters. Her mummy can now be seen in Arequipa’s Museo Santuarios Andinos.

The city of Arequipa was founded on August 15, 1540, by Captain Garcí Manuel de Carbajal after disease forced the Spaniards from an earlier settlement near Camaná, near the coast. Arequipa blossomed as a go-between for trade between Lima and all of southern Peru, including Cusco, Puno, and the rich silver mine of Potosí in present-day Bolivia.

The city has repeatedly been pounded by a series of devastating earthquakes. More than 300 buildings collapsed after a major earthquake in 1588, which prompted King Carlos V to issue a royal order limiting building height. The city was covered with ash by erupting Huaynaputina a few decades later and leveled by earthquakes roughly once per century—in 1687, 1788, 1869, 1958, and 1960. The latest earthquake, in 2001, measured 7.5 on the Richter scale and knocked down one of the towers of the cathedral, which has since been repaired.

Getting There

By Air: El Aeropuerto Rodríguez Ballón (Aviación s/n, tel. 054/44-3464) is 7 km northwest of the city, or about a US$3 cab ride. The airline has offices near Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas at Santa Catalina 118-C. LAN (Lima tel. 01/213-8200, www.lan.com), Aerocondor (Lima tel. 01/614-6014, www.aerocondor.com.pe), and Star Perú (Lima tel. 01/705-9000, www.starperu.com) have flights.

By Bus: The highway between Arequipa and Juliaca, completed in 2002, transformed what was once a miserable 19-hour journey on potholed roads to a five-hour cruise on perfect pavement. Ormeño (Terrapuerto or Terminal Terrestre, tel. 054/42-3546 or 054/42-4187, 6 a.m.–10 p.m.), Cruz del Sur (Terminal Terrestre, tel. 054/42-7375, www.cruzdelsur.com.pe), Transportes Flores (tel. 054/23-8741, US$10–20), and Civa (tel. 054/42-6563, www.civa.com.pe) bus lines have service to and from Arequipa.