AREQUIPA, THE WHITE CITY.

Arequipa (founded in 1540) is the colonial-era capital of the same name region in South Western Peru. It is bordered by the Ica, Aya'Cucho, Apu'Rimac, and Cuzco regions in the North, the Puno Region in the East, the Moquegua Region in the South, and the Pacific Ocean in the West. The capital city, also called Arequipa, is Peru's second biggest and most populous.
This Arequipa region has a rough topography, characterized by heavy layers of volcanic lava covering large areas of its inter-Andean sector. It also has deep canyons such as the ones formed by the Ocona (it helped form the deep ones) and Majes rivers.
The region is divided into 8 provinces: Arequipa, Camana, Caraveli, Castilla, Caylloma, Conde'Suyos, Islay, and La Union. The 3 Coastal Provinces (Caraveli, Camana, and Islay), all have popular beaches. Various ports are also found along the coastline, the 2 most important being Mollendo and Matarani, both in the province of Islay.
The Colca Canyon on the Colca River, with a depth of 3,270m / 10,730ft, one of the deepest in the world and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA, is situated in the province of Caylloma, 160km / 99 mi North West of Arequipa.
The Cotahuasi Canyon is located at the highest Andean point of the province of Arequipa. The only road leading to the canyon goes through Chuquibamba, capital of the province Conde'Suyos, then Aplao in Castilla province. The road which is unpaved goes quite high, through a 4,500m pass between Coropuna and Solimana mountains. The altitude and remoteness of this region mean that residents have retained many of the practices that are no longer common in neighboring regions.
In the Castilla province near Corire, in the coastal desert, Dead Bull (Toro Muerto) is an area with more than 3,000 volcanic rocks with ancient petro-glyphs dating back to the ancient Wari culture (flourished in the South Central Andes) which dominated much of this region. Further to the North near Andaguas lies the Valley of Volcanoes. Almost 100 cones of various sizes dominate the lava-hardened landscape. One of the highest mountains of the province is Coropuna at 6,425m/21,079ft above sea level.
Arequipa city, capital of the province holding the same name is known as the White City because of its architecture with beautiful baroque buildings completely built out of sillar, a kind of white volcanic stone. Its historic center is anchored by the Army Square (Plaza de Armas), a stately main square flanked on its North by the 17th-century neo-classical Cathedral, which houses a museum displaying religious objects and artwork.
Arequipa city is surrounded by 3 major volcanoes: Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu. Of the three, the most well known is the Misti.  The Misti (5,822m/19,101ft) volcano lies between the Chachani (6,075m/19,931ft) and Pichu Pichu (5,669m/18,599ft). The Misti had its last eruption in 1985, 198 years after its previous documented eruption.