How to Get Around Arequipa

Getting in: Arequipa’s airport has frequent flights from Lima, about an hour and a half. Buses from Lima take about sixteen hours, from Cusco nine or ten, and from Puno six.

To the Colca canyon: about three and a half hours to Chivay by road, over a pass at 4,900 metres — which is higher than anything else on the trip and where people feel the altitude most. Organised two-day tours are the usual approach; public buses run to Chivay and Cabanaconde for much less.

In the city: the historic centre is compact and walkable. Taxis are cheap and fares should be agreed in advance, or use an app.

To the coast: buses run down to Mollendo and Camana, and the Panamericana connects along the desert.

Trekking into the canyon involves a descent and re-ascent of over a thousand metres.