Museo Santuarios Andinos — Attraction in Arequipa

Just completed the guided tour of Museo Santuarios Andinos. As others have noted, the guide is mandatory. Entrance fee is 25 soles plus tip. Photography is not allowed.

I had a private French-language tour since I was the only participant. The museum was crowded, so we explored rooms out of order when space became available. The guide rushed through the exhibition without allowing time for independent exploration. The entire tour lasted only 20 minutes.

While the exhibition is interesting, I found limited value beyond what's readily available online (like the Wikipedia article on Mummy Juanita). I understand why the actual mummy isn't displayed for preservation reasons, but paying 30 soles (25 + 5 tip) for pottery, dolls, and textiles felt excessive.

I'm disappointed and feel robbed. In my opinion, not worth the cost for...

As mentioned, the guide is mandatory. Entrance fee is 25 soles plus tip. Our guide did not rush and left time for questions but we would have preferred to read the signs. The entire tour lasted only 20 minutes.

The spiel did seem to gloss over what was effectively quite a brutal (I appreciate by modern standards) child murder and frame it as a privilege. But I guess that’s a matter of personal taste.

I am quoting another reviewer below because I agree 100% with them.

I found limited value beyond what's readily available online (like the Wikipedia article on Mummy Juanita). I understand why the actual mummy isn't displayed for preservation reasons, but paying 30 soles (25 + 5 tip) for pottery, dolls, and textiles felt excessive.

I'm disappointed and feel robbed. In my opinion, not worth the cost for...

I want to warn others of the SCAM on tipping. At the pay desk they baldly state 25 soles is for (foreigners) entrance only but you have to tip the guide at the end. Now bearing in mind you cannot go in without a guide, they are clearly paid to do exactly that. Like other reviews state the tour is a bit rushed and we were not encouraged to read the museum information placards but listen only to the guide. At the end the guide turned on us and repeated that we now had to tip. I overpaid 5 soles each and feel a fool. Bearing in mind we tip our drivers and tour guides 10-20 soles per day, 5 soles for a 20 min guided tour is way too much. If you do feel obligated to pay, I suggest 1-2 soles. You will see other reviews below also reference this tipping scam. No photos added as you are not...