The white city beneath three volcanoes
Arequipa's colonial centre is built from sillar, a pale volcanic stone, and the cone of El Misti rises behind the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas. The Santa Catalina Monastery is a walled town within the city, with lanes and cloisters painted in deep blue and red, where nuns lived in seclusion for centuries. The Museo Santuarios Andinos shows Juanita, an Inca girl sacrificed on Ampato. Arequipa's cooking is famous in Peru: try rocoto relleno and chupe de camarones in a picantería.