Where to Sleep in Southern Peru

La Casa Del Melgar

AREQUIPA, PERU

This hotel had EVERYTHING: Location, history, character, and a good breakfast. What really drew me to this place was it’s character. I love old houses and La Casa del Melgar is a preserved 18th century mansion.

1 block away from the Santa Catalina Monastery and four blocks away from the Plaza de Armas made it easy to explore the hot spots. Plus it is in the historical district so you are near art, culture, history, and good food. The atmosphere is everything you hope for when arriving in a new country.

Plus Breakfast was amazing.

Who wouldn’t want potato chips for breakfast! Plus it was our first exposure to Coca Tea and my new favorite fruit, a sweet passionfruit called the granadilla.

As you can see my sister didn’t quite to how to drink Coca Tea her first time and ended up drinking the leaves.

Pachamama Hostel

CABANACONDE, COLCA CANYON, PERU

I’m not gonna lie, it’s rugged out in the town that sits at the entrance of the Colca Canyon. But Pachamama Hostel makes up for the cold temperatures at night, no internet service, and otherwise being in a food desert. When we arrived in Cabanaconde after a grueling drive from Arequipa, walking into Pachamamas cozy dining area with good music and amazing food made us rest well that night.

This place has good vibes all around. Their website is an awesome resource that I used many times to plan my trip to the Colca Caynon: http://www.pachamamahome.com/ They have resources for hikes, tours, how to get from Cabanaconde to Puno (which was our next stop), and honestly since I last checked the site they improved it even more! They now have bus schedules and more information on the lesser known hikes which I had a hard time finding information on. This hostel has passion and you can feel it in how much they share.

I highly recommend these two places to stay as they set the stage for an amazing trip to Southern Peru. I personally think where you sleep can be just as important as where you are visiting.