Santa Catalina Monastery

The monastery is absolutely gorgeous! The territory is vast, offering plenty to explore. Everything is incredibly well-preserved, making it feel like stepping back in time.

Plenty to see although some of it can be a bit samey after a while. 45 soles entry with the option to pay for a guided tour. If I had more free time I would have liked to opt for the guide as they did add a lot of context and value from the parts I overheard. You can get a good feeling for the rooms without a guide due to the various informational plaques scattered around. Plenty of spots for photo opportunities and the insides are nice and cool to get some respite from the sun.

Great visit. Second time 20 years apart. This time with our kids. The colours are still amazing. The kids found it a little boring at times - as it is not as interactive in English as it could be. Still fantastic place

Like a small village in a big city this was a very quiet place when I was there. There are surprises around every corner of this citadel. The firts monastery wa was built in the 16th century, destroyed by an earthquake early 17th century and later in that century rebuilt. The women living in the monastery in earlier times were mostly one of the "chosen" from each wealthy family.

Surprisingly interesting place to visit, one gets a good view of the nuns' lives. The guided tours are a bit slow, using the downloaded app one can do a good self-guided tour.

Stunning historical buildings with sad history worth a visit. It’s great to have a guide to know the details.

There are places you should visit when being in Arequipa. One of those places highly recommended is the monastery of Santa Catalina. It is like a small village in the city center, a monastery that is still in use but the biggest part of it is turned into a museum. Entrance fee is 45 soles per adult. When inside, you can either use a free guide that you can download on your phone (iOS and Android) or hire one of the official guides inside. They offer tours in various languages (English, Spanish, Italian, French and German). Their tour takes approx 60 minutes and after that you can still explore the place on your own. In the entry area, there are free lockers, where you can leave your bags if you want to. The place is amazingly beautiful. The history is somewhat strange. The monastery used to be kind of a religious prison for the second daughters of rich families, that could live there with everything life had to offer (private apartments, servants etc.) just missing that one little thing: freedom.

A must to visit in Arequipa! I was surprised by the size and ‘luxury’ of this monastery, it’s worth getting a guide so as to deepen your understanding of the history and the lifestyles of the nuns!