6 Best Sights in The Southern Andes and Lake Titicaca, Peru

One of the oldest architectural landmarks from the Arequipa baroque period was named for the ancient mora (mulberry) tree growing in the center of the main patio. One of the town's most unusual buildings, it now houses the Banco Sur, but it's open to the public. Over the front door, carved into a white sillar portal, is the Spanish coat of arms as well as a baroque-Mestizo design that combines puma heads with snakes darting from their mouths—motifs found on Nazca textiles and pottery. The interior of the house is like a small museum, with alpaca rugs, soaring ceilings, polished period furniture, and a gallery of colonial-period Escuela Cusqueña (Cusco School) paintings. Originally a lovely old colonial home, it was bought in the 1940s by the British consul and fully restored in the early 1990s.

This attractive Spanish-colonial home was built in 1888. Ask the guard for a tour, and you'll enter through a pretty courtyard and an ornate set of wooden doors to view rooms furnished with period antiques and Cusco School paintings.

This small museum and art gallery, sometimes called Casa Ricketts, was built in 1738 and is now the Banco Continental. Look for the elaborate puma heads spouting water. Inside you'll find colonial paintings, ornate Peruvian costumes, and furniture.

Unlike the other mansions, Casona Iriberry has religious overtones. Small scriptures are etched into its structure, exemplifying Arequipa's catholic roots. The back of the house is now the Centro Cultural Cháves la Rosa, which houses some of the city's most important contemporary arts venues, including photography exhibits, concerts, and films. The front of the compound is filled with colonial-period furniture and paintings.

Reconstructed more than five times, this 17th-century colonial building, once a chaplaincy, now houses a fair-trade café, a library, and a few upscale handicraft stores. It was originally home to Silvestre de Valdés, a Catholic priest who served as a corregidor (a Spanish official who acts as governor, judge, and tax collector) and who oversaw construction of the nearby cathedral. The house had a long history of changing owners until its present owner, Ana Maria Piño Jordán, bought it at public auction.

First owned by the founder of Arequipa, Don Garcí Manuel de Carbajal, La Mansión del Fundador, about 6.5 km (4 miles) outside Arequipa—about a 20-minute journey—is a restored colonial home and church. Alongside the Río Sabandía, the sillar-made home perches over a cliff and is said to have been built for Carbajal's son. It became a Jesuit retreat in the 16th century and in the 1800s was remodeled by Juan Crisostomo de Goyeneche y Aguerrevere. While intimate, the chapel is small and simple, but the home is noted for its vaulted arch ceilings and spacious patio. There's also a cafeteria with a bar on-site. To reach the home, go past Tingo along Avenida Huasacache.