Do you know why Arequipa is known as the “White City”? Discover it on this Half Day Ruta del Sillar, the stone that gives its name to this beautiful city in southern Peru.
In the sillar quarries it is the place where the white stone is extracted with which the emblematic buildings of Arequipa continue to be made. These quarries create a unique landscape. We will also enjoy the stories of the masters themselves.
8:30 am We begin our tour with a lot of history and live culture, where we visit quarries and areas where the ashlar originated.
The first point where we will stop will be the Añashuayco Quarry where we will arrive in 45 minutes approx. It is currently in operation, the stonecutters carry out their work very early; in the place we will be able to appreciate an immense canyon with cliffs (walls of ignimbrita) that have several meters of height, formed by the extraction for the formation of the Sillares. At this point we will tell you the history of the ashlar, the elaboration and the use that has always been given to it. In this quarry you can see a Megatallada of the facade of the Church of the Society of Jesus made by the stonecutters themselves.
We can also visit one of them to explain their daily work and experiment by cutting one of their stone blocks ourselves.
Then we will move to the Quebrada de Culebrillas, 30 minutes away from Añashuayco . Arriving here we will make a walk of approximately 20 minutes inside the small canyon that was formed by the passage of water, with walls of 15 to 20 meters.
At the end of the walk we can observe petroglyphs made by the Wari culture over a thousand years ago.
Before returning to the city we will observe the Apachetas that are stone formations placed one on top of the other that are a symbol of gratitude towards nature and also attraction of good luck which cause a mystical sensation.
