El Misti

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El Misti

Elevation	5,822 m (19,101 ft)
Location	Arequipa, Peru
Range	Andes
Coordinates	16°17′40″S, 71°24′32″W
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1784

El Misti (5,822 m) is a stratovolcano located in southern Peru near the city of Arequipa. This city, second largest in the country, lies at the foot of El Misti in a fertile valley located 2,400 m above sea level. El Misti (the mistful one) has become the city's enduring symbol. Most of the city's colonial buildings were constructed from El Misti's white volcanic stone (sillar). The volcano's last eruption was in 1784^[1].

With its snow-capped, perfect cone, El Misti stands at 5,822 m and lies between the mountain Chachani (6,075 m) and the volcano Pichu-Pichu (5,669 m). These impressive mountains, located northeast of Arequipa, are visible almost year-round, but especially during winter (May-September).

El Misti has three concentric craters. In the inner crater fumarole activity can be seen. Near the inner crater six Inca mummies and rare Inca artifacts were found in 1998 during a month-long excavation directed by the archaeologists Johan Reinhard and Jose Antonio Chavez. The finds are currently stored in the Museo de Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa.

There are two main climbing routes on the volcano. The Pastores route, which is more used, as its starting point is nearer to the city of Arequipa, starts in 3,300 m. Usually a camp is made in 4,500 m at Nido de Aguilas. The second route, the Aguada Blanca route, starts at 4,000 m near the Aguada Blanca reservoir and a camp is made in 4,800 m at Monte Blanco (the name of the camp comes from the fact that it has more or less the height as the summit of Mont Blanc). Neither climbing routes presents technical difficulties but both are considered strenuous because of the steep loose sand slopes.