Ruta del Sillar

General Information

The Sillar route runs through the interior of the quarries, which transport the visitor to the origins and understanding of how the historic center of Arequipa was declared CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY by UNESCO. When visiting the quarries in operation you will be able to observe live the ancestral process of extraction of blocks and the carving of the ashlar realized by the hand of the man.

Visit a quarry where this famous stone can be extracted, and combine this with a visit to see the petroglyphs in Culebrillas.

We will begin this tour in our meeting point. Once we have picked up all travelers, we will embark on the Ashlar Route by departing the city towards the Añashuayco quarry. Here, our guide will give us a number of talks about the process of extracting ashlar, a stone used in the majority of the buildings around the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa. We will also receive information about the chiseling, carving, and large-scale chiseling done by the stonemasons.

Afterwards, we will go to the Culebrillas Gorge, a quarry that is not being mined, but which we are able to walk through for 20 minutes via a small canyon formed by water erosion. At the end of the tour, we will see some petroglyphs that we can admire and photograph while our guide tells us about them. Then, we will go back to Arequipa to end the tour.

Price

Ruta del Sillar

$ 50

Itinerary

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Day 1: Tour Start in Arequipa - Ruta del Sillar - The Ashlar Route, back to Arequipa, full day trip.

We start the tour at 8:30 am/ 2 pm with the pickup from your hotel or hostel. At 9 am/ 2:15 pm We begin our tour from the historic center towards CANTERAS, on the way we will know details about the constructions based on the volcanic rock (Sillar) provided by our professional guide. On the way, our first stop will be at the Zamacola viewpoint approx at 10:10 am//03:10 pm, where we can see the 3 volcanoes from another angle that surrounds the city such as MISTI, CHACHANI and PICHU PICHU in which we can take 360 ° panoramic photos. Around 10:30 am//03:30 pm we continue with the journey to the quarries; the place where the white city originated, we will enter the quarries where we will observe the immense stones worked by the hand of man. Then we will have an experiential time to share and interact with these peculiar characters the ancestral technique of ashlar extraction that is still preserved from colonial times to the present. Continuing with our tour we will board in the transport to visit the CANTERA VÍRGEN DE CULEBRILLAS where we will walk around for 20 minutes. Inside, we will feel a mysterious and unique environment where we can see the presence of petroglyphs that will transfer us to the life and beliefs of the ancient man as this is a sacred place with pink walls, then we will see the presence of apachetas where their symbolism will be known They will also have the experience of putting together their apacheta. After having made the walk we board the bus to return to the city center. We will be arriving Arequipa approx.at 1 pm / 06:20pm.

Exclusive Services

Include

Turist transport.
Guide in English and Spanish

Not Included

Water
Extra expenses

What to bring

Wear light clothes and comfortable shoes
Bring water
Sunscreen, repellent, and sunglasses
Extra cash (There is no option to pay by card)

Photo Gallery

FAQS

Cancellation policy

Cancellation or changes of this tour:

CHANGES: It is FREE to change the tour date before 6:00 pm (Lima time) the day before the tour begins.
NO SHOWS & CANCELLATIONS: If you cancel the day prior to the tour before 6:00 pm (Lima time) or earlier, a 10% administration fee will apply. After this time, there is a 100% no-show or cancellation fee.
You must email office@peru-expeditions.org (include the name of the tour and the reservation number) to cancel this tour or to make any changes.