Arequipa Things to Do Tips by Smruti

Museo Santuarios Andinos houses
the bodies of humans sacrificed by the Incas to appease the gods. Juanita is the name of the most famous mummy. Itīs quite fascinating how the bodies were found - a nearby volcano started erupting in 1995 - the ash from this volcano settled on Mt. Ampato, leading to the melting of the glacier on top of this mountain. The melting exposed several mummies which had been buried about 500 years ago. Apparently, about 25 such mummies have been recovered in western South America, all from Inca times. The story of Juanita is also interesting though somewhat morbid - she was chosen from birth as one whom would be sacrified - for the occasion, she was starved for a couple of weeks and then made to walk all the way from Cusco to Arequipa and then up the 5800 meter high mountain, clad in light woold and grass slippers. There, already near death, she was made to drink a glass of chicha (local alcohol) and then the chief priest hit her on the left temple with a cudgel which instantly led to her death.

Leave a Comment

In the colonial days, rich Spanish colonialists would send their 2nd oldest daughter here to be nuns. Each nun would come with a huge dowry which would be used to build a house within the walls of the monastery and also used to fund a servant, living expenses and any creature comforts that they required.
In 1822, Peru became independent from Spain and in the late nineteenth century, a law was put into place that prevented the monastery from accepting only rich nuns. As a result, a there was a huge influx of poorer Indian nuns (upto 400) . The monastery thus stopped receiving funding - as a result, the active monastery has been scaled down and the rest has been opened up for tourists. The most interesting part of the monastery was the brilliant blue walls contrasting with the rich red walls.

Leave a Comment

Address: midtown Arequipa