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EXPLORA AMÉRICA

7,628 feet above sea level in southern Peru, the city of Arequipa rests in a valley ringed by three volcanoes: Misti, which is still active, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu. Its historic center, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, is built largely of sillar, a volcanic stone born of the eruptions and pyroclastic deposits that blanketed the Chili River basin thousands of years ago. That white, porous ignimbrite, cut from the Añashuayco quarries, earned the city its longtime nickname: "the White City." The stone gave Arequipa more than its color. It proved resilient against the earthquakes that have shaken the region since the Spanish founded the city in 1540, and it is the reason its Andean baroque architecture still stands. Today Arequipa is one of southern Peru's leading destinations, a city made for wandering, with natural wonders nearby, among them the Colca Canyon, that more than justify the journey. Watched over by its volcanoes, the White City is one more reason to visit this Andean country, which has so much to offer travelers. The Volcanoes of Arequipa: The Geological Presence of Misti and Chachani The urban landscape of Arequipa is defined by the symmetrical silhouette of Misti, a 19,101-foot stratovolcano whose summit lies 10.6 miles from the city center. The Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) monitors it around the clock, given the risk it poses to the more than 1 million people who live at its feet. Eruptions recorded since Inca times in the 15th century made the volcano a threat, but they also left behind ash that enriched the surrounding farmland and encouraged terraced fields that captured the valley's moisture. Beside Misti rises the Chachani massif, which reaches 19,872 feet. Despite its height, its gentle slopes have made it one of the most popular peaks above 19,685 feet for high-altitude expeditions in South America. During the Pleistocene, successive eruptions and pyroclastic flows from this volcanic complex laid down the densest layers of ignimbrite, which are now worked in open-pit quarries in the Añashuayco and Seco ravines. The porosity of the stone extracted from its slopes insulates against the sharp temperature swings of the Andean desert, keeping the interiors of buildings cool during the day and warm at night. In a desert landscape with little timber, colonial builders turned to these volcanic deposits after the earthquakes of 1582 and 1600 brought down traditional adobe buildings. Because sillar from the slopes of Chachani and Misti is so easily carved, builders could raise walls up to 5 feet thick and barrel vaults capable of absorbing earthquakes caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate. Meltwater from these same peaks also feeds the aquifers that sustain the Chili River, ensuring a steady water supply in an arid region. A sillar bell tower with snowcapped Misti volcano at sunset above Arequipa, Peru. Photo: Unsplash Sillar Architecture: From Convents to the Plaza de Armas Sillar was never limited to private homes. It defined the religious and civic monuments built between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa fills an entire side of the Plaza de Armas, its facade lined with 70 columns carved from white ignimbrite and framed by two towers rebuilt after the 2001 earthquake. A short walk from the plaza stands the Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena, a cloistered citadel founded in 1579 that covers 215,000 square feet. The complex unfolds like an urban labyrinth: narrow cobblestone lanes, walls washed in cobalt blue and rust red, and the cells where hundreds of Dominican nuns lived in strict seclusion for nearly four centuries. Among the stately mansions of the old town, the Casa del Moral, built in the late 18th century, stands apart. Named for the century-old mulberry tree in its main courtyard, it is one of the finest examples of civil architecture in sillar. Its doorway bears a baroque relief carved into the stone, where Spanish coats of arms share space with Andean pumas and local botanical motifs. The Museo Santuarios Andinos holds the body of Juanita, known as the Lady of Ampato. Sacrificed in a ritual around 1450, the 14-year-old Inca girl was found frozen in 1995 near the summit of Ampato volcano, at more than 20,600 feet, along with her textile and ceramic offerings. Working Quarries and the Gateway to the Colca Canyon The craft of master stonecutters endures on the edge of the city. In the Añashuayco ravines, workers quarry the ignimbrite blocks still used to restore colonial buildings and shape them blow by blow with sledgehammers, keeping alive a trade handed down through generations. Arequipa is also the overland gateway to the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest gorges on Earth, plunging more than 11,150 feet from its rim to the riverbed. From its overlooks, visitors can watch one of the most stable populations of Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), as the birds ride the canyon's rising thermals and glide above the valley. The Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, is home to the Andean condor and an easy trip from Arequipa. Photo: Unsplash The Balance Between Magma and Stone Arequipa exists because of an ongoing pact with the restless geology of the Peruvian Andes. The same volcanic material that remains a latent threat also supplies the stone for its arches, vaults, and facades. volcanes-de-arequipa

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