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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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.
Evie Oswald - Travel Expert
It's hard to believe that Evie has had time to cram so much in to her life so far. Having lived as a child in the Americas and Europe she found herself immediately attracted to Latin America.
Mary Anne Nelson - Travel Expert
Born in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Mary’s insider knowledge and dry sense of humour make her a highly valued member of the Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tour sales team.
Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert
After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.
Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert
A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.
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.
