Rising Sun
Harlequin
Tornado
Our passion and fascination of alpacas naturally fuelled our desire to travel to Peru to the Alpaca Motherland.
Our wish came true in 2017 which coincided with a 50th birthday celebration where the whole family met up in Peru. A second trip was made in June 2019 to Arequipa and the Altiplano and sealed our love for this incredible country. We plan to return for another visit in the near future.
May 2017 – Arequipa
After an overnight stay in Lima, we flew to Arequipa, nicknamed the“La Ciudad Blanca” or “white city” for its unique white buildings made from a local volcanic material called sillar. A week in Arequipa simply was not enough to see all its hidden treasures. Arequipa soon became one of our favourite places for a multitude of reasons.
Arequipa is the epicentre of alpaca processing with the two largest processors headquartered in this city, Inca Tops and Michell. We were treated to private tours of both mills, seeing the scale of the alpaca industry in Peru. The experience was truly humbling, watching the ladies sorting and classing the fleece into micron bandwidths with skill and speed and many years of experience.
Sol and Kuna are top of the line alpaca retail stores in Peru, if not the world, both retailing exquisite vicuna products alongside a stunning range of alpaca garments.
Alpaca, sightseeing, gastronomy and pisco sours will keep us coming back to Arequipa!
(Photos around Arequipa of the Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa, Misti Volcano, Market, Pisco sour in Plaza de Armas, Monasterio de Santa Catalina and a rescued vicuna at a sanctuary)
