Arequipa City Tour: Santa Catalina Monastery & Plaza de Armas

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (1 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/14

Duration3h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Monastery cloisters, a baroque cathedral, and the Plaza de Armas in one morning

This guided city tour of Arequipa covers the Santa Catalina Monastery, the Plaza de Armas cathedral, and the city's colonial architecture in three hours, with hotel pickup and entrance tickets included. The route moves on foot through the historic center, led by a professional guide in English or Spanish. Suitable for all fitness levels; minimum age 12.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Arequipa's historic landmarks

Pick up from hotel in city center
Visit Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena
Walk to the Main Square and admire cathedral
See historic church with mestizo facade
Visit baroque mansion showcasing architecture
Return to main plaza to conclude tour

The Experience

Hotel pickup in central Arequipa starts the tour, and from there the guide leads you into the Santa Catalina Monastery—a 16th-century complex of narrow streets, flower-filled cloisters, and fresco-painted walls that shift between deep reds, blues, and yellows. The cells and courtyards open onto each other in a way that makes the colonial era feel close and immediate, not distant. Entrance is included, so there's no separate ticket line to navigate.

After the monastery, the route moves to the Plaza de Armas, where the cathedral dominates the square with its baroque facade—a blend of Spanish and indigenous artistic elements that the guide will point out. The plaza itself carries the energy of the city: it's where locals and travelers mix, and where you can sit and take in the scale of what Arequipa built. The tour also includes a stop at San Ignacio de Loyola, a historic church known for its exquisite mestizo architecture, and ends back at the main plaza so you can linger if the light is good or the crowd thins.

The whole day runs three hours on foot through the historic center. A professional guide in English or Spanish walks the route with you, explaining the architecture and the history as you move between stops. The pace is steady but not rushed—it's built for people who want to understand what they're looking at, not just pass through.

What’s included

Professional guide in English or Spanish.
entrance tickets to Santa Catalina Monastery and San Ignacio de Loyola.
hotel pickup from central Arequipa.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Intiperu Travel

Is this one for you?The three-hour pace on foot through the historic center works best if you want to move steadily through the main sites without a rushed schedule—the guide has time to explain the architecture and history at each stop, and you're not racing between monuments. If you prefer a slower, more leisurely exploration or a longer deep dive into fewer places, a private guide or a half-day option might suit you better.