Mirador de Yanahuara, Carmen Alto & Chilina Valley Guide, Arequipa

Just a fifteen-minute walk west across the 1888 stone arches of Puente Grau from Barrio de San Lázaro, the right bank of the Río Chili climbs into the traditional garden districts of Yanahuara and Cayma. Here, narrow cobblestone alleys, eighteenth-century parish churches, and cliffside viewpoints look back across the emerald agricultural terraces of the Chilina Valley directly toward the three giant volcanoes that guard Arequipa.

1. Mirador de Yanahuara, San Juan Bautista (1750) & Callejón del Cabildo

Built in the nineteenth century along the brow of the hill beside the palm-shaded Plaza de Yanahuara, the Mirador de Yanahuara is the classic postcard viewpoint of the White City:

• The Nine Inscribed Sillar Arches: A colonnade of white volcanic ignimbrite arches frames the symmetrical snow-dusted cone of Volcán Misti (5,822 m) in the centre, flanked by Chachani (6,057 m) to the left and Pichu Pichu (5,664 m) to the right. Engraved into the stone piers are famous verses by Arequipa poets and thinkers, including Alberto Hidalgo's line: "En vano se echa a andar por la tierra la mirada: no hay nada más hermoso que Arequipa".
• Iglesia de San Juan Bautista de Yanahuara (1750) & Callejón del Cabildo: Directly adjoining the arches stands the 1750 parish church of San Juan Bautista, whose honey-toned sillar portal is a jewel of Mestizo Baroque carving. Step around the corner to photograph the narrow cobblestone lane of Callejón del Cabildo (hung with geranium pots) and order a cup of artisanal queso helado on the square.

2. Mirador de Carmen Alto (Cayma) & the Pre-Inca Terraces of Chilina

Four kilometres further north up the western rim of the river gorge in the traditional village of Carmen Alto (Cayma District), the quiet garden terrace of Mirador de Carmen Alto looks straight down into the green canyon of the Valle de Chilina:

• Over 1,000 Hectares of Living Pre-Inca Andenes: Long before the Spanish arrived in 1540, Yarabaya, Collagua, and Inca farmers engineered more than one thousand hectares of stepped stone retaining walls (andenes) and mountain irrigation canals (acequias) along the slopes of the Chili River. Still cultivated by hand today with bright green alfalfa, maize, onions, and oregano, these terraces form a protected rural buffer right between the city and the 6,000-metre volcanoes.

3. The Southeastern Campiña Loop: Molino de Sabandía (1621) & Paucarpata

If you have an extra afternoon, pair Yanahuara with a ride into the southeastern countryside (La Campiña) nine kilometres from downtown to visit the Molino de Sabandía, a working white sillar watermill built in 1621 by master mason Francisco Flores whose stone grinding wheels are still turned by a cold volcanic spring, alongside the stepped pre-Inca terraces of Paucarpata and the colonial Mansión del Fundador in Hunter; check local venue hours before setting out.