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The city of Arequipa nestles in a fertile valley under the perfectly cone-shaped volcano of El Misti (5822m/19,101ft). Rising majestically behind the cathedral, El Misti is flanked to the left by the higher and more ragged Chachani (6075m/19,931ft) and to the right by the lower peak of Pichu Pichu (5571m/18,278ft).
The city center is based on a colonial checkerboard pattern around Plaza de Armas. Because street names change every few blocks, addresses can be confusing. Generally, they have different names to the north, south, east and west of Plaza de Armas, then change names again further out from the center.
Getting There
Arequipa's airport is about 8km (4.9mi) northwest of the city center. LAN has daily flights to Lima and Cuzco. Aero Condor Perú has cheap flights to Tacna near the Chilean border. Servicios Aéreos AQP flies nine-passenger Piper Cheyenne III planes anywhere you want.
Most bus companies have departures from Terminal Terrestre or Terrapuerto, both on Av Andrés Avelino Cáceres. There's a small departure tax.
Ormeño has two buses a week to Santiago, Chile, and three a week to Buenos Aires, Argentina, both from the Terrapuerto terminal.
Within Peru, several companies operate daily buses to Lima, often stopping en route at destinations on the south coast. Many companies also operate overnight services to Cuzco. If you're heading towards Lake Titicaca, direct buses to Juliaca and Puno leave from Terminal Terrestre; some continue to the Bolivian border. Transportes del Carpio has hourly departures for Mollendo. Cruz del Sur has comfortable buses to Tacna via Moquegua. For Ilo, Flores has daily departures from Terminal Terrestre or its Flores terminal across the roundabout.
Many buses servicing the canyon country also leave from Terminal Terrestre and Terrapuerto. Expect delays during the wet season. Heading for Cañón del Colca, there are only a few daily buses for Chivay. For buses to Corire, Transportes del Carpio has hourly services. Transportes del Carpio goes hourly to the Valle de Majes. Transportes Trebol usually has a daily service for Corire that continues to Andagua. For Cañón del Cotahuasi, Reyna and Transportes Alex have afternoon departures.
The train station is south of Plaza de Armas. Services between Arequipa and Juliaca and Puno have been suspended, but PeruRail runs private trains for large tourist groups.
Getting Around
Although there are no airport buses, minibuses marked 'Río Seco' or 'Zamacola' go along Av Puente Grau and Ejército, passing within 700m (0.4mi) of the airport - ask the driver where to get off. A taxi from downtown should cost under US$5.00 . From the airport, colectivo (shared) taxis charge around US$2.00 per person to drop you at your hotel.
Andes Bike (tel: 20 5078; Villalba 414) sells bicycles, spare parts and travel gear.
and minibuses go south along Bolívar to Terminal Terrestre (20min), but it's a slow trip via the market area.You can often hire a taxi with a driver for less than renting a car from a travel agency. Local taxi companies include Presidencial Express (tel: 20 3333) and Ideal Taxi (tel: 28 8888).
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