10 amazing places you don’t know much about

There’s more to Peru than just Machu Picchu, Cusco, and the Nazca Lines. In fact, the Andean metropolitan region of Arequipa is home to a surprising wealth of lesser-known but equally fascinating places.

The capital of Arequipa is known as the “White City” due to the bleached volcanic Schiller stone that has been widely used in the construction of churches and colonial buildings. It is also the birthplace of Peruvian literary giant and Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa.

In addition to its elegant square with its Baroque cathedral, don’t miss the vast 1579 Convent of Santa Catalina, set against a backdrop of volcanoes on the horizon. The Arequipa region is also known as the alpaca capital of the world. You can expect to find several herds along the roadside, including alpacas, guanacos, and vicuñas, another camelid that produces finer hair than llamas.

About a three-hour drive from the city is Colca Canyon, which is said to be as deep or deeper than the Grand Canyon. Further afield are the surreal Petrified Forest of Prunya and the Pillones Waterfall.

These locations have attracted domestic and international location filming for many years. We hope that the efforts of the government and its de facto film commission, Promperu, will further encourage film production in the region.

A visit to Arequipa begins in Lima, South America’s only coastal capital, from which there are frequent flights to Arequipa and other parts of the country. This vibrant metropolis boasts a record of having four restaurants ranked on William Reed’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, with the Amazon Nikkei-influenced Maido ranked number one in 2025. In 2023, Central, led by chef Virgilio Martinez, sits at the top of the annual list, now in the coveted Best of the Best category.

Lima is not only a gourmet destination, but also offers filmmakers an unusual duality. That means the modern capital sits directly on top of one of South America’s most fascinating colonial underground burial systems. Beneath the historic center, the catacombs of the Convent of San Francisco are a labyrinth of arched brick corridors, artfully stacked bones, and low, directional light that immediately convey a sense of mystery and historical weight. The adjacent monastery has a library of rare old books written in various languages.

On the ground, Lima’s colonial architecture, narrow streets, and the diffused coastal light from the so-called Panza de Burro Sky (donkey’s belly) create a visual contrast. The catacombs’ texture, symmetry, and natural chiaroscuro lighting make them well suited for historical dramas, psychological thrillers, mystery stories, horror, and stylized documentary sequences.

Here are the 10 best places to watch movies in Arequipa.

Abandoned railway stations (“tambos”) — Pampas de Aliros, Cañawas, Sumbey
Cinematic ruins from a bygone industrial era dot the vast highland plains, offering filmmakers a striking combination of weathered industrial architecture, vast skies, and deep isolation. Their remote setting suggests an atmosphere of tranquility and suspense. Ancient rock-art shelters near Sumbei add further archaeological and cultural depth. Meanwhile, the vast expanses of windswept land surrounding Kanawha heighten its sense of exposure and timelessness. Pampas de Arrieros is a ghost town that has been abandoned for 20 years, but some locals have built vacation homes there. The raw textures and natural falloff of these locations provide visuals that can be produced with minimal set dressing. These are particularly appealing to neo-Western storytelling, dystopian futures, road-centric stories, and restrained minimalist thrillers.

Arequipa City: Downtown, San Lazaro

Just a 1.5-hour flight from Lima, the White City boasts a colonial urban landscape set against a volcanic skyline. Many documentaries and fiction works have been filmed here due to its extensive facilities such as hotels and restaurants. A gateway to the Andes, the historic center features European-influenced façades, narrow alleys and archways, making it an ideal setting for period dramas and series. The San Lazaro neighborhood is known for its maze of alleys, quiet stone courtyards, and proximity to the city center’s Plaza de Armas, with its majestic cathedral and graceful fountains. The most recent local production in the city was Guillermo Fernández Cano’s 2025 drama “Nanito,” which featured the historic center, several traditional restaurants, the Fierro de Arequipa Bridge, which once carried trains and is now a bicycle and pedestrian path, and the leafy residential streets of Vallecito.

colca valley

One of the deepest canyons on Earth, said to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in some parts, it offers panoramic views, terraced canyons, and remote Andean villages. It is also home to the Andean condor, who can often be seen gliding on the thermal currents just above the canyon rim. In addition to documentaries, it was also used as the backdrop for the 2013 Brazilian telenovela “Amor a Vida” by media giant Globo, which also featured the White City, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Puno. The 2009 Peruvian-Belgian-German-Dutch film Altiplano, directed by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, used the Colca Valley and the high-altitude landscape of Puno to anchor a story about the impact of mining on a mountain village. The film had its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week and was well-received, starring Magalie Solier, the Peruvian actress who directed the Berlin Golden Bear Award-winning film “Milk of Sorrow,” co-starring Jasmine Tabatabai and Olivier Gourmet. Colca Valley lodges feature volcanically heated hot springs.

Monastery of Santa Catalina

The 215,278-square-foot (20,000-square-meter) 16th-century abbey has bright blue and terracotta walls, cloisters, plazas, and shaded passageways that create a dramatic backdrop. It forms part of the city center and is a UNESCO heritage site. It served as a cloister for Dominican nuns, some of whom still live there today. From here and from the city center, you can see three volcanoes dominating the horizon. Among them is the iconic Misty Volcano, which appears briefly in episode 5 of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. Still in use today, it is considered the symbol of Arequipa and is a 19,297-foot (5,822-meter) tall tower. Among local filmmakers, Miguel Barreda has filmed in Arequipa many times. He shot the biopic “Ana de los Ángeles” at the convent, recreating 17th-century Arequipa and telling the most important episodes in the life of the canonized Peruvian nun, Saint Ana de los Ángeles Monteagudo.

Pampa Kanawas and Tokula Wetlands

Located within the Salinas Aguada Blanca National Reserve, these vast plateaus form rare wildlife corridors defined by vast open terrain, high wetlands, and cloud-covered horizons. The landscapes combine tundra-like textures with wildlife movement, providing a quiet sense of scale and atmospheric realism. The area is home to the protected species vicuña and a healthy wetland ecosystem, as well as the rarely seen guanaco, adding a unique and authentic wildlife element that is rarely captured on camera. Changing light and weather patterns create a natural, moody setting for sensitive, meditative storytelling. Specially created for nature documentaries, meditative films, and commercial spots requiring open, pristine landscapes.

Purnya Stone Forest, Pirones Waterfall

A surreal landscape suitable for fantasy and genre projects, Purnya Stone Forest is a 2-3 hour drive from the city of Arequipa and offers a small-scale version of Turkey’s Cappadocia and its otherworldly rock formations. Easy access from main roads. The altitude is more than 4,000 meters above sea level, so you need to be careful about altitude sickness. Further afield, 45 minutes by car. A short drive or walk down a path will take you to Pillones Falls. This waterfall cascades over volcanic rock and is surrounded by rocks shaped by water and the erosion of time. Raw, isolated backgrounds are perfect for alternate universes, creature features, prehistoric reenactments, or music videos.

Ruta del Syar and Culebrilas valley, petroglyphs

Located on the outskirts of the city of Arequipa, Ruta del Silar (Sirar Route) is a quarry where you can see how volcanic Silar stone was extracted over generations to build most of the White City’s structures, including the cathedral and monastery. It contains huge carved walls reminiscent of the entrance to Petra in Jordan. At nearby Culebrillas, a pristine quarry, you can take a short walk through a narrow water-carved gorge with a collection of petroglyphs, prehistoric rock carvings made by pre-Inca civilizations. Mr. Barreda, who has filmed several documentaries here and provided production services to Germany’s state-run DW TV and its coverage, set his 2021 drama “La Cantera” (“The Quarry”) here.

salinas lagoon

Set against a backdrop of mountain ranges and the Picchu Picchu volcano, the high salt flats of Salinas are about a two-hour drive from the White City or Colca Canyon and offer dramatic scenery year-round. During the rainy season from January to March, the lagoon’s waters create an awe-inspiring mirror effect that attracts flamingos and other migratory birds, similar to Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni. During the dry season from April to December, the water evaporates, creating a white salt formation. In addition to flamingos, there are llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas. Perfect for car commercials, surreal sequences, travel movies, expansive sci-fi landscapes, and photo shoots.

Volcanic Valley, Andagua

The Andagua Volcanic Valley is one of the most visually striking and unusual natural landscapes in the country. The valley is home to more than 80 small cone-shaped volcanoes spread across a vast arid landscape, creating a dramatic lunar-like environment with a strong sense of scale and isolation. Formed millions of years ago by eruptions of basaltic lava, these conical formations, known as hornitos, and the surrounding hardened lava flows provide raw texture and natural symmetry. The result is an unmistakably otherworldly setting with minimal visual enhancements, making it a production-ready location for bold, cinematic storytelling. Perfect for science fiction, fantasy, epic adventure, and nature documentaries.

volcano observatory

Arequipa’s dramatic geography gives filmmakers immediate access to vast panoramic vantage points of its iconic trio of volcanoes: Misti, Chachani, and Picchu Picchu. These natural observation decks deliver impressive sunrise and sunset light, creating the perfect scale and grandeur for powerful cinematic introductions. Drone filming is permitted with local permission and proven production experience in the area. Arequipa was featured prominently in the History Channel’s 2023 documentary series “Extreme Andes.” The six-episode series follows three Brazilian mountaineers as they tour the volcanoes of Peru, with sequences shot in the Andean region, including Arequipa, and specifically the Coropuna volcano as its primary natural environment. Observation decks are perfect for opening shots, character journeys, drone sequences, and dramatic transitions.