Peru Guide
Around Arequipa
Paucarpata
Set against the backdrop of El Misti, PAUCARPATA is a fine place to while away an afternoon with some wine and a picnic lunch. About 7km out of central Arequipa (a good 2hr walk or a quick ride on a local bus, leaving every 30min from the corner of Avenida Salverry and Calle San Juan de Dios in Arequipa), it's a large village surrounded by farmland based on perfectly regular pre-Inca terraces, or paucarpata – the Quechua word from which it takes its name. There's a small colonial church on the southwestern edge of the suburb that contains a few Cusqueña school paintings. Colectivos travel regularly to Paucarpata from the market area or Calle San Juan de Dios in Arequipa for around 50¢.