Colca Canyon is a vast gorge in Southern Peru, about 105 km northwest of Arequipa. Reaching a depth of around 3,270 meters (10,730 ft), it ranks among the deepest canyons in the world, along with the nearby Cotahuasi Canyon. To put that into perspective, Colca Canyon is almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
On this Colca Canyon 2 day tour, you'll see the canyon which stretches for 70 km, that was formed over millennia as the Colca River slowly cut its way through the landscape. It’s a spectacular sight, flanked on one side by Chila Cordillera and on the other by Mount Hualca Hualca, Sabancaya, and the Ampato Volcano. In the distance, you can see the active stratovolcano Mount Ubinas and the beautiful Mount Coropuna.
The canyon and the whole Colca Valley area were home to three ethnic groups, the Collaguas, the Cabanas, and the Ccaccatapay, whose descendants still live here. Settlements here date back to pre-Inca times, with a scattering of towns from the period of Spanish colonization. The region is also home to diverse flora and fauna, most famously the Andean condors — the largest flying birds in the world — who swoop and soar on the thermals rising up along the canyon walls. They share the canyon with kestrels, peregrine falcons, Andean tinamous, and more, making Colca a paradise for birdwatchers and trekkers alike. Experience Andean culture on this Colca Canyon tour from Arequipa!
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Our first day begins early in the morning as we leave the White City of Arequipa and set off along the route to the Colca Valley. It’s a beautiful drive, passing snow-capped volcanoes, rugged pampas, traditional terraced farms, and picturesque villages where the old traditional ways of life are still very much alive.
We’ll make a few stops along the way, the first at the Aguada Blanca National Reserve, where we can watch innumerable guanacos, alpacas, and vicuñas as they graze on the plains. The reserve, which covers almost 366,936 hectares, was created to preserve the local flora and fauna and their natural environment, which was previously deteriorating at an alarming rate. The reserve also protects the local vicuña population through its repopulation program.
Apart from the vast herds of camelids, the reserve is also home to the southern vizcacha (a large and loveable rodent), foxes, condors, and Andean flamingos (also known as parihuanas). In total, 169 animal species have been identified in the reserve, including 23 mammals and 138 species of birds, such as blue-billed ducks, eagles, and kestrels. During their migration period, flamingos also arrive to spend time wading through Salinas Lake.
Leaving the reserve, we’ll drive around the edge of the Chucura Volcano until we reach the Patapampa Andes viewpoint. We’ll now be at 4,900 meters above sea level, and from here we can look out across the beautiful landscape to the peaks of snow-capped mountains and volcanoes in the Arequipa Region, including Hualca Calca, Sabancaya, and Ampato volcanoes.
Our next stop will be the town of Chivay, where one end of the Colca Valley begins. The traditional terrace systems found here, built by indigenous inhabitants of the area, are remarkable for their scale and precise construction. Chivay itself was founded by the Spanish, a fact reflected in its church and other colonial buildings. You can have a traditional lunch in the town (not included) before we check in to our hotel.
You’ll then have the afternoon to explore the town on your own, and, if you like, visit the hot springs at La Calera, (not included) about 3 km from Chivay. Colca Canyon and the Colca Valley are dotted with natural hot springs and thermal baths, thanks to the seismic activity in the region.
t’s another early start today, because there’s so much great stuff to see! First, we’ll head to the lookout point known as Cruz del Cóndor ( Condor Cross), near the small villages of Maca and Cabanaconde. Here, strong winds rise up from the canyon, providing a favorite spot for Andean condors. They soar on the thermals, often in pairs, normally in the early morning and late afternoon. There’s a good chance you’ll see these huge condors, with their three-meter wingspans, flying very close to the lookout point, providing a truly majestic sight. From the lookout point you’ll also have incredible views down into the depths of Colca Canyon.
We’ll then head back to Chivay, first stopping off at the traditional village of Pinchollo and the Antahuilque viewpoint. This viewpoint (or mirador, as they are known in Spanish) offers wonderful views of the 1,500-year-old agricultural terraces that curve along the hillsides like an amphitheater. You can also spot some of the enchanting lagoons of the Colca Valley.
Next is the lookout point of Choquetico, where we can see two very interesting features. First are the hanging tombs, or tumbas colgantes, built by the Aymara-speaking Collaguas around 1200 AD. These funerary niches were cut into the cliffs of Cerro Cabanaconde and then sealed off with rock walls. In order to reach these otherwise inaccessible cliff faces, the builders likely worked their way down using ropes suspended from trees up above. The second interesting feature we can see here is the litomaqueta, a model of the canyon terraces carved into a rock.
Moving on, we’ll visit the small Andean village of Maca, which sits on the lower slopes of Sabancaya Volcano and Nevado Hualca Hualca. Then we’ll pay a visit to the village of Yanque, which is home to a pretty white church, a small archaeology museum, and thermal baths down by the river.
Around 13h00 we will begin our drive to Arequipa (or Puno) depending on your preference.
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Valencia Travel was amazing to work with, and I would highly recommend them for any new travelers. Special thanks again to Andes (guide) , Maria (agent/coordinator) , and Washington (driver) . Thank you for making this a trip to remember for a lifetime.
Valencia Travel was amazing to work with, and I would highly recommend them for any new travelers. Special thanks again to Andes (guide) , Maria (agent/coordinator) , and Washington (driver) . Thank you for making this a trip to remember for a lifetime.
We truly had an incredle experience from booking with Maria, to meeting Miguel upon arrival at the airport, and of course trekking with our incredible guide Aldo and the amazing porters who helped make trekking much more comfortable and luxurious than we're used to. We couldn't believe the 3 course meals they cooked up. Truly blew us away.
The trek itself is incredible as you're able to see so many Inca sites along the way before arriving to Macchupicchu. The mountain range was beautiful.
Aldo our guide was the best! He was very information and taught us so much about the incas and knew so much about all the trees, wildlife, and fauna we saw along the trek. He's been guiding for many years and thanks to his experience and forethought we managed to catch amazing views away from the other groups of trekkers and were the first to arrive to Macchupicchu making for an even more private experience. I highly recommend Aldo!
Valencia travel is a local company that supports all the locals they employ. I highly recommend them for any bookings!
**tip: definitely give yourself 3 days in Cusco before hiking in order to acclimate to the altitude. We saw a couple turn around due to issues with altitude.
We truly had an incredle experience from booking with Maria, to meeting Miguel upon arrival at the airport, and of course trekking with our incredible guide Aldo and the amazing porters who helped make trekking much more comfortable and luxurious than we're used to. We couldn't believe the 3 course meals they cooked up. Truly blew us away.
The trek itself is incredible as you're able to see so many Inca sites along the way before arriving to Macchupicchu. The mountain range was beautiful.
Aldo our guide was the best! He was very information and taught us so much about the incas and knew so much about all the trees, wildlife, and fauna we saw along the trek. He's been guiding for many years and thanks to his experience and forethought we managed to catch amazing views away from the other groups of trekkers and were the first to arrive to Macchupicchu making for an even more private experience. I highly recommend Aldo!
Valencia travel is a local company that supports all the locals they employ. I highly recommend them for any bookings!
**tip: definitely give yourself 3 days in Cusco before hiking in order to acclimate to the altitude. We saw a couple turn around due to issues with altitude.
The Porters and Chef Filex were exceptional and went above and beyond with all our needs.
I was surprised with a Birthday Cake on our hike, and I had no idea someone could make and decorate a cake in a tent.
It was incredibly mind-blowing.
I highly recommend them to anyone looking to do the Inca Trail.
We are extremely pleased with the service we received.
I give them A++++++
Un’altro aspetto importante è stata la guida per Macchu Picchu, Washington! Super appassionato del posto e della storia, vi coninvolgerà con i suoi racconti e le sue spiegazioni. E’ davvero una guida molto esperta e professionale!
Thank you for such a brilliant trek!
Our chef, Gregorio, "Goyo", had the best food of all of our Peru!! the culinary expertise of this guy whom planned a menu according to our hike plan, carbs and proteins, and we had plenty.. .I mean plenty to eat. The porters (all 10), with leads from Climico, and special mention to Fortunato who would met us at the end of the trail to help carry our personal packs to our porters applauding our days hard accomplishment. Along the entire trail, Wilbur encouraging the porter of other competitors as his "little brother" to continue to be strong as they quickly passed us on the trail. My respect to the team of Valencia Travel, the porters, head chef and his assistant and mostly to Wilbur for delivering an experience that I encourage anyone to participate in. Thank you Wilbur. we the 7 women from California, USA will forever be your "Flowers".
There were some challenges communicating with the office staff with some questions we had before the trek and booking it, though once we had our meeting with Guillermo it was all sorted out.
After a lot of research, Valencia Travel appeared as the most qualitative and professional agency organizing the excursions we wanted to take part in. We signed in for day trip to the rainbow mountain and had an amazing experience. The guide spoke English and shared a lot of interesting facts with us, the food was delicious and the general activity was perfectly organisez.
Thanks to this very positive experience, we decided to do the 4 days Lares Trail to Machu Picchu with Valencia Travel. Waouw. We spent the 4 days talking about how impressed we were about the professionalism of the agency. The trek was wonderful, the nature breathtaking but the most impressive part was the service, the kindness of the staff, their organisation,… Everything is in the details, the camp are very confortable, they even bring you tea in your tent to wake you up in the morning!
The food was beyond expectations. At every meal, we had a salad, a soup, a main dish and once we even had a cake that they baked in the tents! Being vegan, we are always a bit scared that it could be a problem for trekkings, but with Valencia it is not at all! We had some of the best foods of our trip during our trekking!
I am so happy that we did the Lares trekking with Valencia as there is no better way to reach the sacred site of Machu Picchu than by doing a trekking in the nature. It is a very special place and trekking to reach it definitely add some magic to the experience!
To conclude, I would highly recommend Valencia for any activities in Peru, it will make your experience unforgettable!!
At 55 and with a helpful dose of camaraderie from my younger trek-mates, including my 16 year-old niece who managed the ascents and descents with aplomb, I felt a sense of accomplishment in completing the trek, which is more vertical than horizontal and ranges from about 9,000 to 12,000 feet over three days. Hiking the trail does require above-average fitness for the middle-aged. No unmanageable parts but a walking stick, reliable shoes, dependable leg muscles and accommodating joints, a relatively light backpack of essentials, and stops along the way to gulp down the thin air, take in the jaw-dropping vistas, pause for passing porters, and make way for grazing llamas—all are required to push through. So is a large reserve of self-deprecation. Alex and other minders were more than indulgent while keeping us all on the move.
Reaching Machu Picchu at the end was paradoxically awe-inspiring and anti-climatic given the splendor of the journey to get there. At the end of it, getting on the train that deposits and returns the vast majority of visitors in the space of a day, I simply couldn’t imagine seeing Machu Picchu without doing the trek.
If you are hiking the Inca Trail I highly recommend to go through Valencia Travel. Ask to have Elistan as your guide. The porters are treated very well. They have good hiking shoes, and attire to wear. (though if they could get backpacks that include waist straps I think that would be great!). Ask for Luis to be your cook. I have never eaten so well on a vacation. Luis is amazing at what he can cook up on the trail, we are talking three course meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the food is presented as if it was at a 5 star hotel. Incredible!!!
My only other desire is if Valencia offered a Recipe Book of the meals eaten on the trail. I would totally purchase such a piece of "gold".
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