Perú; Travel Programs Giardino 2017

9
AREQUIPA
It is not Possible that you visit Cuzco and
Machupicchu avoiding Peru’s second-largest
city "Arequipa". This city belongs to the
highlights of Peru and with good reason!
It is guarded by three dramatic volcanoes, the
Misti, Chachani and Pichu pichu. Also has a
great architecture that is a formidable
ensemble of baroque-mestizo buildings
grafted out of the local white rock called
“sillar”, that has so far withstood most of what
Mother Earth has thrown at it. The historic
center of Arequipa spans an area of 332
hectares and is a UNESCO World Heritage
site since 2000.
Also Arequipa has played a fundamental role in
Peru’s gastronomic renaissance; classic spicy
dishes such as Rocoto relleno, Chupe de
camarones, Cuy Chactao (Fried Guinea pig)
and Ocopa Arequipena, are some of them to
be mentioned.
Arequipeños are also a proud people fond of
intellectual debate, especially about their fervent
political beliefs, which find voice through regular
demonstrations in the Plaza de Armas. Not
surprisingly the city has produced one of Latin
America’s most influential novelists, Mario
Vargas Llosa.
In addition to its beautiful beaches in the
summer season (January to March) Arequipa
city is also the door for many interesting
excursions around the region, one of the most
popular are the visit of the the Colca canyon,
enormous but dwarfed by the glaciers and
volcanoes on either side of the valley; with
more distant but deeper, the Cotahuasi
Canyon, or the Valley of the Volcanoes.