√ Arequipa (Peru): information on the city, what to visit and what to do Arequipa?

Arequipa

Population: ~ 762.000

Time difference to London - Time zone GMT/UTC: -5 hours

Climate, weather: 21ºC (70ºF) all year long and dry with little to no rain, if there is any rain it falls between January and April.

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Arequipa is the main city of southern Peru and the second most important city in Peru.

A beautiful city with excellent weather surrounded by spectaculars volcanoes (Misti 5825 mts, Chachani 6075 mts and Pichupichu 5664 mts) and declared by the UNESCO as a world heritage site because of its colonial architecture.

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Arequipa (Peru) - Things to See:

El Misti – the 5821 meter (19098 ft.) Volcano shadowing the town

Monastery of Santa Catalina

Plaza de Armas

Arequipa (Peru) - Local Fiestas and Festivals:

Folklore Festival (first week in July)

Founding of the City (Aug 15)

Excursions

From the city of Arequipa, you can adventure off on excursions to Colca Canyon, Cotahuasi Canyon (the deepest Canyon in the world) or to other cities close to Arequipa: Puno, Cuzco, etc.

Arequipa and it's gastronomic tradition

Arequipa and it's gastronomic tradition Arequipa, in Pear, is recognized as a city with an excellent local gastronomy. Due it's strategic location between the coast and the andes, it has achieved a robust and delicious food, putting together the best of both regions.

The typical or popular restaurants are located generally out of the city, in the rural area. They are called "Picanterías", because the main dish they prepare is the famous "Picante" (means hot food in Spanish). A Picante is a stew prepared from vegetables or meat with a cooked dressing based on red local pepper. It's served with rice.

Traditionally the Picantes were served starting at 3 PM, to those clients arriving to the local to drink some beers. Generally a Picante is composed of 2 or 3 variations of the stew served together.

Before the Picante time, these restaurants serve the "daily menu". Composed of a three course meal: an entrance, a robust soup and a main plate. Actually, the main plate is the soup, which is called "Chupe". Each day has a corresponding Chupe. So, on Monday they will serve 'Chaque", Tuesday"Chairo", and so on.

Today Arequipa has modern restaurants that maintain the gastronomic quality heritage, and have improved to it several plates like Rocoto Relleno or Chupe de Camarones. The Picanteria has started to disappear.

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