The Best Museums in Arequipa, Peru

Museo del Periodismo Editora Perú

The Museum of Journalism will be of limited interest to most travelers, apart from those with an interest in the history of the printed press. Located in a historic republican casona, the museum consists of five rooms that exhibit the first printing machines used to print Peru’s official newspaper, El Peruano, in Arequipa. El Peruano is the oldest of all the newspapers in Peru, and the oldest existing newspaper in Latin America

Address: Consuelo 202, Arequipa
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Entrance: free
Phone: (51-54) 281172
Email: editoraperu@editoraperu.com.pe
Website: www.editoraperu.com.pe/sitios/museo/sbolivar/areq/1.htm

Museo de la Catedral de Arequipa

The Museo de la Catedral de Arequipa is located inside the Basilica Cathedral on Arequipa’s main square. The neoclassical cathedral was built between 1621 and 1656, and reconstructed in 1868. Items on display include artwork from the Cusco School and works by Peruvian painter Francisco Laso, as well as lavish religious ornaments decorated with precious stones.

Address: Plaza de Armas (entrance via side door on Santa Catalina Street), Arequipa
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance: S/.10 (with an additional S/.10 for a guided tour)
Phone: (51-54) 213149 / (51-54) 221024
Email: comunicaciones@museocatedralarequipa.org.pe / info@museocatedralarequipa.org.pe
Website: www.museocatedralarequipa.org.pe

Museo Naval de Arequipa

The Naval Museum of Arequipa tells the story of the Peruvian Navy in southern Peru, both along the coast and on Lake Titicaca. Naval artifacts include items from the War of the Pacific, the Battle of Callao (Combate del Dos de Mayo) and the Revolution of Arequipa.

Address: Juan Manuel Polar 111, Vallecito, Arequipa
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Entrance: free
Phone: (51-54) 219710 extension 2700
Website: www.marina.mil.pe/page/museoarequipa

Museo Tercera Orden Franciscana

The museum, located within the Temple of the Third Secular Franciscan Order located on Plaza San Francisco, is divided into five rooms exhibiting sculptures, religious images and colonial-era paintings from Arequipa and the Cusco School. Religious ornaments and silverware are also on display, as well as 17th century religious documents and texts in the temple library.

Address: Plaza San Francisco, Arequipa
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Entrance: free
Phone: (51-54) 219589 / (51-54) 223048
Website: none

Museo Paleontológico de Sacaco

The Sacaco Museum of Paleontology is located in the Sacaco Desert in the Bella Unión district of Arequipa. Due to the ancient quirks of certain geological changes in the area, the fossils of numerous creatures that existed during the Late Miocene to Pliocene period have been preserved in what is now the open-air “museum.” Fossils on display include sharks, whales, giant oysters and a Megatherium (a genus of elephant-sized ground sloth).

Address: km 546 of the Panamericana Sur, Bella Unión District, Arequipa Region
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Entrance: free (?)
Phone: (51-54) 482057
Website: none

Museo Universidad Católica de Santa María - Yanque

The small Museo de Yanque is located in the district of Yanque in the Colca Valley. There are various textiles and artifacts on display ranging from the pre-Columbian to colonial eras, as well as precise scale models of each and every church located in the Colca Valley.

Address: Plaza Principal de Yanque (Valle del Colca), Caylloma Province, Arequipa Region
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Entrance: free
Phone: (51-54) 764969
Email: contact form on website
Website: http://www.ucsm.edu.pe

Museo Convento La Recoleta

If you’re looking for eclectic, then don’t miss the La Recoleta Convent Museum. The 17th century convent houses a number of mini-museums, including the Pre-Columbian Museum (containing artifacts from cultures such as the Chimú, Mochica, Inca, Churajón, Chancay, Wari and Paracas), the Amazon Museum (detailing the tribes and fauna of the Peruvian Amazon), and the Museum of Religious Art. There’s also a library containing some 20,000 volumes (many printed between the 16th and 18th centuries), an art gallery, and a few monks' cells to explore.

Address: Calle La Recoleta 117, Yanahuara District, Arequipa
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance: free
Phone: (51-54) 270966
Email: convento_la_recoleta@hotmail.com
Website: none

Museo Forestal de la Policía Ecológica

The Forestry Museum of the Ecology Police is home to more than 300 animal species -- all of which are very dead and very stuffed. The collection includes animals from the three geographic regions of Peru, as well as some marine creatures.

Address: Parque Caballero 121, Urbanización Jesús María, Yanahuara District, Arequipa Region
Hours: by previous arrangement
Phone: (51-54) 460875 / (51-54) 464354
Website: none

Museo Carlos Atilio Manchego Rendón

The Museo Carlos Atilio Manchego Rendón is a small archaeology museum located in the town of Chuquibamba. The collection includes ceramics, textiles and some metal items from the Inca, Chavín and Moche cultures (some pieces are replicas). There is also a Wari tomb on display, complete with mummies and funerary objects, as well as some Chuquibamba-style ceramics (c.1000 A.D.).

Address: Calle Mariscal Castilla 106, Chuquibamba, Condesuyos Province, Arequipa Region
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (by previous appointment with the Condesuyos Provincial Municipality -- yes, that could be tricky to arrange unless you’re actually outside the museum)
Phone: (51-54) 474002
Website: none