Cabanaconde's plaza is a square of patchy grass and concrete benches surrounded by single-storey adobe and concrete buildings. On one side stands the small Iglesia de San Pedro de Alcántara, a 17th-century colonial church with a stone facade and a wooden interior. On the other sides: a handful of basic shops, internet cafes, the municipality, and the offices for the bus companies running to Arequipa and Chivay.
This is where almost everything in town happens. Buses to Arequipa leave from here several times a day; the agency offices for hiking guides are on the adjacent corners; the daily produce market spills into the plaza on certain mornings. Most travellers spend at least one evening here. The plaza is also the easiest place to find a colectivo to Cruz del Cóndor early in the morning.