Arequipa Peru Travel » travel

Festivals in Arequipa Peru

Arequipa — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:14:35 +0000

Jan 6 Los Reyes de Tiabaya, where families visit the district of Tiabaya to shake the pear trees.

Feb 3 Festival of Virgen de la Candelaria in Cayma and Characato, where fireworks are set off the night before.

Feb (second half) Carnaval Arequipeño, where a carnival queen is chosen, and there are parades and folkloric dance competitions. Water (and sometimes other things) is thrown on passers by to celebrate.

Mar/Apr The Semana Santa (holy week) celebrations in Arequipa take the form of massive processions in the centre of town, with participants dressed in mourning clothes, in the style of Seville in Spain. On the morning of Easter Sunday, effigies of Judas are burnt in different locations of the city.May 1 Fiesta de la Virgen de Chapi, and many people travel to Chapi to venerate the virgin, who is the most important in the region.

June 24 Día del Characato with bullfights and festivities in the district of Characato.

June 24 Fiesta of San Juan Bautista in Yanahuara.

July 16 Festival of Virgen del Carmen, where groups dance’Los Turkos’, representing the resistance of the Indian population to Spanish domination.

Aug The main celebrations in Arequipa occur in August to mark the founding of the city in 1540. Typically, a dance exhibition, Festidanza, with participants from all over South America, happens. There is an enlarged crafts market at the Fundo El Fierro, and there is an interesting general trade exhibition at the FIA. There are also massive rock concerts at the FIA, featuring musicians from all of Peru and Latin America. The night of the 14th there are firework displays all over the city. On the 15th there is a mass ascent of Misti and a parade around the centre of Arequipa.

Aug 30 Festival of Santa Rosa de Lima in La Tomilla.

Sep 8 Festival of the Virgen de los Remedios in Socabaya.

Oct 8 Fiesta of the Virgen del Rosario, in Yarabamba, Yanahuara and Yura.

Oct 15-19 Feria Agropecuaria in Viraco, with bullfights.

Oct 18 (and most of month) Celebrations for the Señor de los Milagros, similar to the celebrations in Lima, although on a less grand scale. The faithful dress in mauve for the month, and there are processions carrying the statue of the Lord throughout the city, with the streets decorated with flower petals.

Nov For the whole month guaguas (manjar-filled pastries) are eaten.

Nov 2 Day of the dead, when deceased relatives are visited in cemeteries.

Directory of Arequipa

Arequipa — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:02:30 +0000

Communications Internet
In the centre of Arequipa there are over a dozen Internet cafes, including several on most of the streets radiating from the Plaza de Armas. It is possible to find places offering Internet access at $0.30 per hour.

Post The post office is located on the first block of Moral.More…
Consulates
Austrian Consulate, Quinta Tristán K-9, José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, T 424768.
Belgian Consulate, Av. Lima 401, T 216669.
Bolivian Consulate, Mercaderes 212, of. 405, T 213391.
British Consulate, Av. Tacna y Av. Arica 145, T 241340.
Chilean Consulate, Mercaderes 212, of. 400, T 226787.
Italian Consulate, Centro Comercial La Salle D-15, T 221444.
Spanish Consulate, Ugarte 218, 2nd floor, T 214977.
Swedish Consulate, Av. Villa Hermosa 803, T 252499.
Swiss Consulate, Av. Miguel Forga 348, Parque Industrial, T 229998.Crime and safety
There have been many incidents of taxi drivers assaulting passengers, and to avoid this it is best to use reliable taxis. In general, taxis from companies with phone numbers and names prominently displayed, are safer, and so should be used if possible.

The tourist police station is located at Jerusalén 317.

Health
The best private clinics in Arequipa are the Clínica Arequipa (Corner Puente Grau and Av. Bolognesi, Yanahuara) and the Clínica Monte Carmelo (Gómez de la Torre 119, Urb. Victoria). The EsSalud hospital is located at the corner of Peral and Ayacucho. The Hospital Honorio Delgado is located on Av. Salaverry.

Immigration offices
The immigration office is located at Parque Dos, Quinta Tristán, T 421759. Take a taxi from the centre.

Laundry
Lavandería Alemana is located at San Camilo 501-B.
Lavandería Cayro is located at Jerusalén 311.
Lavandería Del Pueblo is located at Puente Bolognesi 342 and Alvarez Thomas 558.

Local transport, combis and buses
Combis and buses go to all parts of the city. From the centre, the best place to catch combis is from Sucre (heading towards Tingo) and Cruz Verde (heading towards Yanahuara and Cayma). There is a flat fare of $0.20.

Taxis
Taxis are the easiest way to get around Arequipa, charging $0.70 for a standard journey. Always take a taxi with a company logo, as there has been a spate of assaults by robbers posing as taxi drivers.

Money, Banks
Banco de Crédito (Visa cash machine) at the corner of General Morán and San Juan de Dios.
Banco Continental (Visa cash machine) is at San Francisco 108.
Interbank (Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus cash machine) at Mercaderes 217.
Scotiabank at Mercaderes 410.

Moneychangers
There are plenty of money changing shops in the centre, especially opposite bank branches.

Sport and activities
Taking part

There is a good sports club, Club Internacional (Av. Bolognesi, Yanahuara), by the river, where there are excellent sports facilities (two swimming pools, tennis, football, frontón, a gym). There are also football pitches and frontón courts in the parks in many residential neighbourhoods. There is an Olympic-size public swimming pool in Cayma.

Football
The local team, FBC Melgar is in the Peruvian first division. The team play at the Estadio Melgar or at the Arequipa Stadium (UNSA).

Bull fighting
Bull fights take place in August when Arequipa celebrates its founding. Unlike in most of the world, the fight takes place not between a bull and a man, but between two bulls, and neither of the bulls is killed at the end. Fights tend to take place outside of the city is the country districts. Bull fighting gallery Pic

Horse Racing
There are races most days at the Hipódromo in José Luis Bustamante y Rivero.

Toilets
There are toilets in the Panorámico shopping centre. Always carry toilet paper, as many toilets, even in restaurants, do not provide any.

Travel services
Tourist information

The tourist information office is located on the Main Square and has good information on the main attractions in the area.

Travel Agencies
There are dozens of travel agencies in Arequipa offering tourist services for travellers. Most offer similar trips, mainly to the Colca Canyon. Trips to other destinations, including climbing the nearby volcanoes, may need to be arranged privately. Acuarius Travel (Santa Catalina 104) TeleFax: +(51) (54) 247393 and Cevitur (Santa Catalina 102) are decent, cheap agencies. GSA PERU TRAVEL (Portal de San Agustín 119) Phone: +(51) (54) 226660 / Fax: +(51) (54) 202477, Gold Tours (Jerusalén 206), Ricketts Turismo (Santa Catalina 200), Lima Tours (Santa Catalina 120) and Cóndor Travel (Puente Bolognesi 120) are a bit more expensive, but offers better tours.

Private guides
Guides are available through the travel agencies, and there are good guides at Santa Catalina Convent and the Museo Santuarios Andinos.

Cotahuasi Canyon Trekking in La Union

Arequipa — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:57:08 +0000

The Cotahuasi Canyon and the towns and villages in the area are best accessed via Arequipa, although they are really towns of the central highlands, with many of the customs and the music from the area originating from Ayacucho. The area is very beautiful, and is full of wonderful mountain scenery making for some superb hiking. The Cotahuasi Canyon, considered to be the world’s deepest, is an incredible place, with sheet cliffs rising up from the riverbanks. Despite its attractions, the area receives very few visitors due to its inaccessibility.

Even if you are not going as far as the canyon itself, there are several places on the way that make for an interesting visit from Arequipa. These include the petroglyphs at Toro Muerto, which are over 5,000 etched rocks in the desert. There is also good, but not difficult, rafting at Majes, two hours from Arequipa, making a nice day trip.