Colca Canyon — Attraction in Choco

6-7 hour bus ride from Arequipa (terminal terrestre, Arturo Ibanez 130) to Cabanaconde. Route over highlands, vicuna reserve, down to Chivay in canyon, then down canyon, (best views from right side of bus). 9:30 AM Arequipa departure (Andelusia) and nights in Cabanaconde before and after self guided trek, seemed better than 3:00 AM Arequipa departure, short last trek day and back to Arequipa of tours. Many places to stay, I was at Pachamama hostel about 2 blocks up from the plaza on San Pedro St. Good information about trek options and good place to meet others doing unguided treks. I did 2d/1n trek, 1st day to Llahuar with scenic descent along canyon edge, then down into side canyon, final descent to Colca river crossing, climb into Taruna, back down to Llahuar on the Colca river just after crossing the Huaruro river. Nice bungalows on river, friendly staff, fixed menu dinner, breakfast and sandwichs available, all at very reasonable prices. Natural hot pools and swimming pool right on river not open because river very high in early March. Very ambitious new "restaurant" construction ongoing. As hike to Llahuar mostly down and not too long, I was there well before noon. Could just chill in nice location. I opted for day hike up Huaruro canyon that starts steeply right from Llahuar then more gradually up to Llatica where a bridge crosses the river. From there another steep climb to high trail that contours back down other side of canyon to above Belen. Nice safe and scenic canyon trails. Down main street in Belen past soccer field to steep trail to Paclla. Cross road and continue on trail down through terraced gardens that eventually goes to Taruna above Llahuar. This added another 11 km and 700m vertical, about 4 hours at a fast pace, to first day. 2nd day back up to Belen, options are trail short cuts to Paclla not too steep, then very steep to Belen, or longer but more gradually walk on road. From Belen you are on road up to viewpoint bend then level to shortcut trail down to plateau, join main trail down to Sangalle (relatively touristy and expensive, but amazing given that everything has to come in by horse or burro). That just leaves the 2.5 - 3.5 hour all uphill switchbacks to plateau and final km to Cabanaconde. Total for 2nd day a healthy 16-18km with 1700m elevation gain. If I was doing it again, would spend 2 nights in canyon, 1st at Llahuar, then 2nd up at Fure with day hike up to the waterfall (cataratas), day 3 high trail back from Fure contouring back to join road at high point above Sangalle, then through Sangalle up and out. Another interesting high altitude strenuous option might be continuing up from Fure to Tocallo at 3800m where some maps show a trail that goes in and out of several canyons with final pass then long descent to Malata above Sangalle. Another night in canyon and some local information about condition of trails would be needed. Canyon country was unique, scenic and very green with lots of water in the rainy season. Lodging and meals in many areas down in canyon allows for very light packs, a plus given all the climbs. No reservations needed for anything during rainy season, probably a different story in high season. A minibus service that goes on the not too scary dirt road from Carbanaconde, crossing the Rio Colca at the same place my trek did has beautiful brand new rain sheltered stops at all the little towns all the way to Tapay! This allows some less strenuous options for the canyon that are sure to become...

We traveled to the Colca Canyon specifically to see one of the world's deepest canyon (#2 deepest after a canyon located in Tibet) and deeper than the Grand Canyon USA. Also, the prime reason to go Colca Canyon is to see the famous giant Condors flying around the Canyon. We had specifically selected the month of May for our 14-day Peru Tour because it has been mentioned to be the ideal month for dry (not rainy) weather, sunny skies and mild temperatures, and we were not not disappointed - the weather was great for our entire 14-day Peru trip.

We had selected a very well organized and reasonably priced tour company: Gate-1 Travel which offers two (2) different types of tours to Peru (and other places around the world): "Classic" tours with a group size of 40 persons maximum and "Discovery" tours with a group size of 20 persons maximum. We had selected the Gate-1 "Discovery" tour for several reasons: value, first-class accommodations, excellent food, service, local certified guides who speaks very good English or else they would not be hired by Gate-1. Gate-1 "Discovery" tours are priced somewhat higher than the larger "Classic" tours not only because of the smaller group sizes, but it also includes better accommodations (4 to 5-stars), all breakfasts, most lunches and dinners at high-class restaurants. We have done multiple Gate-1 Discovery Tours and we have not been disappointed by any of these tours.

To get to Colca Canyon, there is a zig-zag road up a mountain range - so be prepared for an exciting drive to this area. As for the views at Colca Canyon, the views are stunning, and the canyon is deep. We had arrived in the Canyon mid-morning and already saw a good size crowd their waiting to see the Condors - but no Condors were flying when we first arrived. There are multiple view points at the Condor viewing area and they all are good locations - as we had found out after the Condors started flying. After we had waited about 30 to 45 minutes, we saw 2 or 3 giant Condors flying about. After another 10 to 15 minutes, there were about 10 to 15 Condors flying about - very impressive!! Our experienced tour guide told us that there are no guarantees to seeing the Condors on any given day because there are some days where there maybe no Condors flying about...

A very beautiful trekking area and unlike anywhere else in Peru. We spent two days trekking this area without a guide or tour, which is totally unnecessary in this canyon. The trails couldn’t be easier to follow and the whole area is perfect for fit hikers but beginner trekkers. Don’t be fooled though, the steep drop into the canyon and painful return climb to the rim are harder than most hikes, and reminiscent of those found in the Grand Canyon.

We did the long classic route which descends to Llahuar and loops to San Juan before climbing back up to Cabanaconde. This is typically done over three days but we got to Llahuar by 10:00 on day one so competed the second days hike as well. That day was around 20+ kilometers and tough but rewarding. The next morning, we climbed from San Juan to the rim, which was quite a bit longer and tougher than expected. We had decided to skip San Galle which is on most trek itineraries as it is the most touristy of the villages in the canyon.

We stayed at Colibri Lodge for our night inside, which was one of the nicer guesthouse we found in South America. No reservation, just got lucky with a walk in and they had availability for us.

The only downside of trekking here are the ridiculously limited bus options. Unless you are coming from or going to Arequipa, there really aren’t any public buses available. There are a handful of tourist buses, but they all make lame stops at expensive restaurants, viewpoints, etc and cost $50-65 USD for Puno or Cusco. We didn’t want to go all the way back to Arequipa since we were headed to Cusco, and managed to find a public bus option to get there without backtracking. It included a few steps and a little adventure, but cost just 50 soles and was actually pretty easy. And let’s face it, you wouldn’t be trekking in Peru if you didn’t like adventure.

If you want specific info on the trekking routes and distances, how to do this without a guide, or most importantly all of the transport options for accessing the canyon and then getting to places other than Arequipa, search our name, Career Break Adventures and Colca Canyon or something of that nature. Have fun and...