The Colca Canyon is one of those places that feels ancient even before you arrive! It is as though time has stood still. Filled with ancient traditions still very evident, lands terraced by generations of Andean farmers, and protected by communities who still live according to the guidance of the Apus. This Colca Canyon cultural tour is for travelers who want to understand the canyon in a complete way. Not only visiting its incredible scenery but also through the people whose ancient traditions give the valley its unique identity.
This tour focuses on Andean culture Colca Canyon heritage, not just rushing from viewpoint to viewpoint. Witness for yourself, the weaving families in Yanque, farmers tending their pre-Inca terraces, musicians preserving their ancestral tunes, and elders who talk about the land with a kind of awe that stays with you long after this short tour finishes. The 2025 itinerary Colca Canyon Andean culture tour is not a physically demanding itinerary. The difficulty Colca Canyon andean culture tour is classified as easy to moderate.It is however, emotionally rich and the kind of experience that leaves you feeling connected to something older and much wiser than yourself. Travelers often comment that the comparison Colca Canyon Andean culture tour to other Peru excursions is like day and night. This is due to the authentic way of life that moves at a pace that allows you to listen, observe, absorb, and be present. The perfect way to blend scenery, local Andean culture, and ancient Peruvian philosophies into a trip you are going to remember.
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Valencia Travel
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Your Colca community tour begins as we leave Arequipa behind and follow the high-altitude road that winds toward the Chivay valley. Along the way, keep an eye out for vicuñas grazing on open pampas and for the distant silhouettes of the Ampato and Misti volcanoes on the horizon. In Chivay, we will visit a weaving community where families still use natural dyes and ancestral weaving techniques. This will be your first immersion in cultural experiences in Colca Peru! It is a chance to see how textiles are a living record of history, fable, family stories, and cultural identity.
In the afternoon, enjoy a soak in the natural hot springs of Chivay, overlooking the mountains. The perfect relaxing moment before settling into your lodge.
Approx. driving time: 3.5–4 hrs
Altitude: up to 3,600 m (11,811 ft)
We start early today to reach the Cruz del Cóndor, one of the most special wildlife encounters in Peru. As you marvel at these huge birds gliding on morning thermals it feels almost like a magical Andean ceremony. A gentle reminder of how closely wildlife and spiritual belief intertwine in the canyon. From the Condor Cross, we will move into the heart of the Colca community tour, visiting traditional villages such as Yanqui and Maca. Your guide will explain how families still use the pre-Hispanic terracing systems and how local festivals, offerings to the Pachamama, and ancient philosophies such as “ayni” still define the local way of life.
After lunch, we will make our return trip through the canyon’s dramatic landscapes. We will drive back to Arequipa by evening, carrying a new respect for the ancient customs of this incredible canyon valley.
Approx. walking: Light, 1–2 hrs broken up
Approx. driving: 5–6 hrs total
Contact us for more information about Departure dates for this package


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Real experiences from fellow travelers who hiked, explored, and shared moments with us. Honest voices to inspire and prepare your own journey.
¡Viajar con Valencia fue una experiencia fantástica! Aldo también fue un guía turístico increíble. Conocía muy bien la región y fue muy amable. ¡Los chaskis también fueron increíbles! ¡Recomiendo este lugar sin dudarlo!
As you’d expect with a four-day trek, there were highlights—and a few lowlights—with our Valencia Travel experience. The positives far outweighed the negatives, which is why I still give it 4 stars and would recommend Valencia. But they (and you) can learn from the communication issues we faced.
The Trip
We booked the 4-day/3-night Classic Inca Trail with Valencia Travel about 9 months in advance. We opted for a 7-person private tour, which was a modest upgrade and well worth it. Arriving in Cusco 3 days before the trek helped us adjust to the altitude—highly recommended.
The Positives
Ultimately, you are there for the four-day hike. All the equipment (except for the hiking pole) was great – they supplied the tents, hiking poles, sleeping bags, and air mattresses (the last three were extra, but well worth it and good quality). The food was fantastic. Hats off to our cook. Our porters were great—friendly and top notch in their support of our trek. Our guide, Leevo was FANTASTIC. He was a font of knowledge and a source of fun. And, he played the flute, often bringing it out while we hiked. This bonus made the trip seem all the more magical.
The Negatives
The biggest issue was poor communication, especially at key moments.
What to Know as a Traveler:
• Expect a pre-trek meeting the night before.
• They may randomly drop off duffle bags at your lodging.
• They stop at a restaurant the morning of the trek (no need to prep breakfast).
• If you damage equipment—even accidentally—they may try to charge high replacement fees.
What Valencia Should Know:
As a marketing professor, I share these details to help improve customer experience.
• We didn’t hear about the pre-trek meeting until the morning of the day before, forcing us to cancel dinner plans.
• Duffle bags were dropped off without notice—luckily, we were home.
• They failed to prepare for our extra luggage storage, despite prior emails. We were blamed for not explicitly confirming, which caused unnecessary stress.
• We bought breakfast ahead of time based on their written policy, only to find out they stop at a restaurant.
• One of our rented hiking poles broke mid-trek (not due to misuse). Afterward, they demanded $125 for it, later reduced to $50, and finally accepted $10. It wasn’t the money—it was how poorly the situation was handled, which left a bad final impression.
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.
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".
Have questions about your tour? You’re not alone. Here we cover the most common topics — from packing tips and safety to transportation and accommodations. Whether you’re heading to Machu Picchu, the Amazon, or beyond, this section will help you feel prepared and confident.
Yes, all transport is fully included, as well as breakfast on Day 2 and lunch on Day 1. Dinner is at your leisure in Chivay.
No formal trekking permit is required. Your entrance ticket to the Colca Canyon an the valley is included in the cost of your tour.
Rather than rushing to the viewpoint, this itinerary emphasizes visits to Andean culture Colca Canyon communities, taking part in ancestral practices, and real immersive cultural interaction.
One night in a comfortable, mid-range lodge in Chivay with private bathroom facilities.
Absolutely! We will be happy to! We can adapt timings, add immersive community workshops, add trekking adventures, include a homestay option for the ultimate immersion experience, or arrange private family-friendly add-ons to make the most of this magical canyon region.
We’ll help you find inspiration from history, flavors, and travel tips so you can plan the best trip to Peru tailored to your needs. That’s why we’ve compiled this collection of knowledge so you can take home the best of our land.
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