To many people, Araquipa, set in the mountain desert of the Western Andes, is just a base - a necessary stopover to reach the Colca Canyon. However, the "White City" held many surprises for us - and all of them pleasant. The "White City" tag comes from the effect of the sunshine on the light-coloured volcanic rock, sillar, of which many of the city's colonial buildings are made. And the sun almost always shines in Araquipa! The city is surrounded by mountains, the volcano, El Misti, the even higher Chachani, and the smaller but interestingly named Pichu Pichu. "Pichu" means peak, but as the Quechuan language has no plural nouns, "Pichu Pichu" means more than one peak. As far as eating was concerned, we had been recommended to a restaurant in Araquipa called Sambambaia, so we thought we'd give it a try for lunch. We were amazed at the standard of the place - beautiful monogrammed linen napkins - glasses engraved "SR" for Sambambaia's Restaurant. The service was impeccable, the food very good. Back in England, it would have set you back a small fortune. Here in Araquipa, the equivalent of £14 (USD23) for the two of us, including drinks and tip. We would also recommend "La Truffa", situated behind the cathedral, for a good lunch at a very reasonable price.

Of the sights of Araquipa, there were two which we found particularly outstanding . The first was a visit to the museum at the University, where the "Ice Maiden", nicknamed Juanita, was on show, together with the artefacts found with her. Seven other mummies found in the same area are also being studied there. There was a TV programme shown in the UK dedicated to Juanita in the "Ice Maiden" series, chronicling how the 500-year-old mummy of a sacrificed ten year old girl had been found after volcanic activity had caused sufficient melting of the ice of Ampato for her body to be discovered in the most amazing state of preservation, with the flesh still on her arms, her hair and the textiles of her clothes all incredibly preserved in the ice. The mountains were regarded as gods by the Incas. Human sacrifices were aimed at appeasing the gods, so that natural phenomena, the "acts of the gods", might be averted. The Ice Maiden is displayed in a glass case, still frozen to prevent decay. The fact that this mummy is on display has not reached all the guide books yet, nor the standard tour routes, but visitors to Araquipa are strongly recommended to include Juanita in their itinerary.

The other sight not to be missed is Santa Catolina - called a monastery, but in reality a convent. The complex is like a small city, covering a vast area, some 20,000 square meters. Be sure to take lots of film with you - there are fantastic photo opportunities. The colours and contrasts are amazing, the natural light challenging for even the most accomplished photographer.

In the town itself, you cannot escape being told the story of how Araquipa was independent for four whole days, the bullet holes in the cathedral's clock reinforcing the story. The inhabitants are fiercely proud of this - you can get an Araquipan passport, and many of the cars have "AQP" plates on the back, as you could have a "GB" plate on the rear of yours (but probably don't!) in Great Britain or an "F" in France. And the ultimate idiosyncrasy, in a country where they drive on the right everywhere, in the main square of Araquipa, and in that one street only, they drive on the left! Confusing enough when you're a pedestrian - potentially lethal to the unwitting motorist.

The shopping experience in Araquipa is not as expected either. There are a few very expensive shops in the Cloisters, but the quality of the baby alpaca products is superb and well worth the money. And it is a city in which you can wander the streets, even after dark, and feel perfectly safe.

Another revelation for us was our visit to the bank to change travellers' cheques. At the Banco del Credito, there were between 700 and 800 people waiting in queues to be served, with a system like the delicatessen counter of a supermarket, take a number and wait your turn. Incredibly, we were directed to a counter where we were served immediately. You get a great feeling of satisfaction, jumping a queue of over 700 people!

Having started off by saying that Araquipa is often just thought of as a base for the Colca Canyon, that was exactly why we had gone there - our trip to the Colca Canyon was one of the real highlights of Peru for us.

Colca is arguably the deepest canyon in the world - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The scenery is phenomenal - especially the Inca and pre-Inca terracing . The wildlife we saw is varied - llamas, alpacas and vicuñ as , eagles, hawks (kara karas), finches, woodpeckers, parakeets, black ibis and Aztec geese, vizcachas (like chinchillas) and various lizards. And the humming birds come in three varieties, small, medium and large. And by "large", we mean the largest in the world - about the size of an English starling! You get used to superlatives in Peru "the biggest", "the deepest", "the highest". And here's another. We went to the condor point, Cruz del Condor, a place where the Andean condors come in really close, their strategy being to try to knock their prey off the mountainside. The condor is the biggest and heaviest bird that flies, with a wing span of over three meters (or about ten feet, if you don't think in metric!). While we were there, a film crew was making a programme on condors for the local TV station, so we are now stars of Araquipa TV (autographs available on request!).

We stayed overnight in the most remarkable location - Parador del Colca, a lodge set into the side of the mountain overlooking the canyon. We could be forgiven for coming home with the photo entitled "this is the view from our balcony"! The lodge had been built specifically so that it did nothing to spoil its surroundings. So no pylons providing mains electricity - we had solar powered lighting till about ten o'clock, then just a small battery powered light for use during the night. Local produce to eat - and you go out into the fields, where they dig up your potatoes for lunch, make a hole in the ground, build a fire, rake out the embers and put the potatoes in the hole. They are then covered over until cooked, when they are dug up for you to eat. You just can't get any fresher that that.

We saw pre-Inca tombs in the mountainside and a rock with a pre-Columbian model of their irrigation plan carved into it - if the model works, that's how they irrigate the terracing. We went to village markets - incredibly soft baby alpaca jumpers from £3 (USD5). There was so much to see.

On the way back to Araquipa, we stopped at a place on the road which is 15,700 feet (4,800 meters) above sea level - and that's a long way up! Offerings to the god of the mountain are made here, so we both erected our little pile of stones. After a hair-raising drive home down the mountain road (or rather, dirt-track), the latter part of the journey in the dark, we were thankful that we had made our offering. The god got us down safely, despite the determined efforts of a local bus driver, who tried to sideswipe us every time we attempted to get past. But for the intervention of the god, we would never have overtaken him and lived to tell the tale!

Before we finish, a word of warning. Beware of the effects of altitude. Soroche, altitude sickness, may make you dizzy, or feel nauseous and/or give you a headache. It will certainly make you breathless, however fit you think you are. However, take heart - you soon get acclimatised. Keep drinking the coca tea, which is not unpleasant (rather like Chinese green leaf tea), and certainly seems to help. And no, you don't get addicted to it - you only drink it while you're at altitude. Lying down for a couple of hours also helps, and if you are offered a whiff of oxygen, accept it graciously if you are affected. As you will have gathered, even if you suffer from altitude sickness, the visit to the Colca Canyon is well worth it. It was certainly one of the high spots of our visit to Peru - and we don't just mean being at 15,700 feet!

Created 3rd July 1998