Arequipa City Tour and Santa Catalina Monastery with Guide

Santa Catalina Monastery tour, historical site, explore 20,000 sqm behind volcanic ashlar walls

A half-day guided tour of Arequipa picks you up from your hotel and moves through four stops: Carmen Alto viewpoint overlooking the Chili river valley and the Misti and Chachani volcanoes; Yanahuara, a 19th-century district with its own viewpoint; the Company Church, a World Heritage Site begun in 1590; and Santa Catalina Monastery, a 16th-century convent built by ashlar stone. Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese or French, and monastery admission is included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Arequipa city and monastery tour

• Pickup from hotel
• Visit Carmen Alto viewpoint
• Visit Yanahuara viewpoint
• Visit Church of the Company
• Visit Main Square
• Tour Santa Catalina Monastery

The Experience

Hotel pickup starts the morning, and the first stop is Carmen Alto, 6 km from central Arequipa. From there you look out over the Chili river valley with the Misti and Chachani volcanoes rising in the background — the countryside spreads below while the peaks hold the horizon. The viewpoint frames what surrounds the city before you move into it.

Yanahuara comes next, declared "Villa Hermosa de Yanahuara" in 1870 and one of Arequipa's oldest districts. Its main square sits ringed by churches and traditional shops, and the viewpoint there gives you the city itself, with the Misti still watching over it. Then you enter the Company Church, a World Heritage Site whose construction began in 1590 and took more than a century — the neo-renaissance style rises in white ashlar stone, the same material that built the monastery you'll reach at the end of the tour.

The Main Square anchors the urban center before you arrive at Santa Catalina Monastery. The convent occupies its own isolated world despite sitting in the heart of the city — plazas, cloisters and streets where daughters of prestigious families lived under the care of nuns. The ashlar walls came from the volcanoes you saw from Carmen Alto that morning, so the stone itself carries the geography of the place.

What’s included

• Professional guide in your choice of English, Spanish, Portuguese or French.
• admission to Santa Catalina Monastery.
• hotel pickup and drop-off.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by LimaTours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a guided group tour with fixed stops at Carmen Alto and Yanahuara viewpoints plus the Company of Jesus basilica, rather than piecing together your own Arequipa itinerary.

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Top questions

What are the Carmen Alto and Yanahuara viewpoints, and what do they show you?

Carmen Alto sits 6 km from central Arequipa and overlooks the Chili river valley with views of the Misti and Chachani volcanoes. Yanahuara is a historic 19th-century district whose viewpoint shows the city itself, with the Misti dominating the skyline above it.

Is the Company Church and Santa Catalina Monastery admission included in the tour price?

Santa Catalina Monastery admission is included. The Company Church is a World Heritage Site you visit during the tour, and entry is part of the itinerary.

What languages does the guide speak?

Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese or French — you choose when you book.

What should I wear to visit the churches and monastery?

Dress code requires pants, long shorts or skirts that cover the knees. Entry will not be permitted without this coverage.

How long does the tour take, and does it include hotel pickup?

The tour runs 3.5 hours and includes pickup and drop-off at your hotel — let the operator know your hotel name when you book so they can coordinate the pickup time.