Peru Arequipa and Colca Canyon
Take a tour to Arequipa, Peru's colonial white city and launch pad for visits to the Colca Canyon, Peru. Book your tour with The sunlit oasis of Arequipa - the White City – is home to pearl-coloured buildings and sits at the foot of craggy volcanoes. Nearby, condors swoop over the cavernous Colca Canyon. Latin America now.
Overview
On a fertile oasis in the desert of southern Peru, Arequipa - the White City - squats at the foot of craggy volcanoes and shimmers in the constant sunlight. The pearl coloured mansions and churches, shady arches, spires and unreconstructed grid of gabled colonial houses have a middle-eastern flavour. The small shops and cafés and flowery plazas make it a great place to relax, and to get accustomed to the altitude (2,335m) if heading into the Andes.
From here a lonely road heads 83km up through a wind-sculpted wilderness to plunge into the cavernous Colca Canyon, in the shelter of which pre-Inca communities built astounding amphitheatres of agricultural terracing which survive to this day.
Holidays Arequipa and Colca Canyon
From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.
Classic holidays
Group - Discovery
Peru / Lake Titicaca / Bolivia
Condor: Peru in depth
20 days from £3,305pp
Private Journeys
Peru
Family Peru: Machu Picchu and Amazon adventures
19 days from £3,560pp
Classic holidays
Group - Classic
Peru / Lake Titicaca
Pelicano: Essential Peru
14 days from £3,461pp
Private Journeys
Peru
Peru by Rail
10 days from £5,890pp
Things to do
Look into things to do in Arequipa and the Colca Canyon in southern Peru. Book your tour of Peru with Journey Latin America now.
Accommodation
Examine hotels, lodges and other first class places to stay in Arequipa and Colca Canyon in southern Peru. Book a group tour now with Journey Latin America.
Where to go when - our guide to Arequipa and Colca Canyon
The weather in Arequipa and Colca Canyon is wide and varied
Arequipa enjoys pleasant weather for most of the year, with some 360 days of sunshine. Temperatures are pleasant, warm enough to wear a shirt during the day and perhaps a light jumper at night. The higher altitudes of the Colca Canyon region make for much colder nights, particularly in the driest months of June to September. Rain is most likely between November and March. The condors are considered to be at their most active from late March to June.
View our Arequipa and Colca Canyon weather guidePapagaio
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Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.
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Sophie Barber - Travel Expert
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.
Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert
Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.
Ben Line - Travel Expert
Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.
Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert
Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.
Lina Fuller - Travel Expert
Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.
Hannah Donaldson - Travel Expert
Having spent part of her childhood in Colombia and worked in Brazil and Costa Rica, Hannah's ties to Latin America run deep. Hannah is a much valued Travel Expert in our Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tours sales team.
