Arequipa: Private Tour to The Ashlar Route – Arequipa, Peru

EXPERIENCE:

Discover the origin of Arequipa’s amazing architecture on this half-day tour through the Ashlar Route, also known as Rute del Sillar. The Añashuayco Quarry is located in the northeast of the city of Arequipa. This site originated more than 3 million years ago thanks to the intense lava and volcanic gas activity in the area.

During your tour, you will see where hundreds of men extracted the white volcanic rock with which most of Arequipa’s most important buildings, including the cathedral and old mansions, are made from. Explore the site and learn about the white stone´s extraction process. This place also presents evidence of the presence of the Wari Civilisation, whose members carved various petroglyphs on the stone. The local quarry workers have inherited the knowledge of cutting, carving, and extraction techniques from their ancestors. 

At the end of the tour, you can acquire handcrafted artwork and souvenirs made from the white ashlar from Añashuayco. After the visit, you will be transferred back to your accommodation in the city.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

See a demonstration of the extraction process by a local interpreter
Learn about the historic and natural importance of this site to the region
See the amazing representation of the Compañía de Jesus Church, which is carved in a huge ashlar wall
Discover the impressive Añashuayco Quarries.
Admire this city built with “sillar”, a volcany porous stone.

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