This nunnery is located right in the historical center of Arequipa and takes up an entire city block.
Before I went in, I got a pretty good view of the snow capped volcano this morning.
The nunnery is quite interesting. Nuns would go there for 4 years while they trained and then they needed to decide if they wanted to stay or if they wanted to leave. The whole complex us beautifully painted with lots of courtyards and trees.
There is also a coffee shop inside as well as an art gallery. You can view the old kitchens as well as bedrooms and living areas, it’s all been preserved. Part of the complex was repaired due to earthquakes and you can see some of the damage as well.
There is quite a creepy area with pictures of any nuns that died here. The artist was given 24 hours to paint the nun after death, as he was not allowed to paint them when they were living.
Apparently, once per week they open it up after dark as well and then you can see it lit up with the street lights.