Arequipa Department

Arequipa is is one of the 24 departments in Peru. It lies in the southern part of the country and borders the departamentos of Ica, Ayacucho, Apurimac, Cuzco, Puno and Moquegua. Arequipa is divided into eight provinces of which the largest in population (830,000) is the capital of the departament, also called Arequipa. The other seven, with their approximate 2002 population are: Camana (51,000), Caraveli (30,300), Castilla (41,000), Caylloma (50,400), Condesuyos (22,500), Islay (56,800) and La Union (18,700).

Arequipa has an area of 63,344 square kilometers and a population of 916,806 (1993 census). Its capital is the city of Arequipa.

There are numerous points of interest in the department of Arequipa. The three coastal provinces, Caraveli, Camana and Islay all have popular beaches. Various ports can also be found along the coastline, the two most important being Mollendo and Matarani, both in the province of Islay.

The Colca canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, is in the province of Caylloma and the Cotahuasi canyon is in the province of La Union. Colca Valley provides incredible close-up views of majestic Andean condors soaring in their natural habitat. Cotahuasi, at 3,535 meters is presently thought to be the deepest canyon in the world. Both canyons offer spectacular scenery and villages as yet unaffected by the modern world.

In the province of Castilla, by the town of Corire is Toro Muerto where one can see more than 3,000 petroglyphs. Further to the north, near the town of Andaguas, lies the Valley of Volcanoes where almost 100 cones of various sizes dominate the lava-hardened landscape.

The eight provinces with their capitals

1. Arequipa (Arequipa)
2. Camaná (Camaná)
3. Caravelí (Caravelí)
4. Castilla (Aplao)
5. Caylloma (Chivay)
6. Condesuyos (Chuquibamba)
7. Islay (Mollendo)
8. La Unión (Cotahuasi)