7:30am pick up from your hotel in Arequipa (2325 m.s.l.). We will take the highway to Yura, first passing through Pampa de Arrieros and Pampa Canahuas where we will see vicuñas, llamas, alpacas, and migratory birds along the way. We will continue to Viscachani where you will enjoy some Coca tea to help with the altitude. From here we will continue the trip viewing tokras, ponds, wetlands, and perhaps some flamingos and ibis.
Finally, we’ll arrive at Patapampa Pass (4900 m.s.l.), the highest point on our journey, and known as the volcano viewpoint. From here we’ll see a chain of volcanoes that include Hualcahualca, Sabancalla, and Ampato, the famous volcano where the Inca mummy Juanita (viewable in Arequipa) was sacrificed over 500 years ago.
From Patapampa Pass we will descend to the town of Chivay (3646 m.s.l.), the capital of the Colca Canyon region, where you will have lunch
in the afternoon you will take your private transport to travel to Cabanaconde,
visiting Cruz del Condor on sunset
On the way our transport will stop in some viewpoints before we get Cabanaconde
Hotel in Cabanaconde:KUNTUR WASSI/LA GRANJA/CASA DE SANTIAGO
SECOND DAY
An early (7:00am or later) breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast we will spend a few minutes around the main square
We start our trek from CABANACONDE at the top of COLCA CANYON to get finally the bottom .
We usually spend 3 hours going down to get the bottom, once we get the bottom “OASIS DE SANGALLE” We have our lunch after that we can enjoy the time in the swimming pool and we have the chance to walk a bit more
Dinner time
TREKKING TIME: 3 HOURS AND A HALF APPROX TREKKING TIME: 5 HOURS AND A HALF (LONG TREK OPTION)
LAST DAY
We’ll wake up at 4:50am to start our 3-3.5 hour hike out of the canyon to Cabanaconde. After breakfast is Cabanaconde we’ll have a 2 hours transport ride to the Calera hot springs. The bus will stop at a couple viewpoints for photos along the way. You’ll have about an hour at the thermal baths before we continue to Chivay (10-15 minutes away) for a buffet lunch.
Note: If you do not wish you hike out of the canyon you can hire a mule for about 50 soles.
Continuing on to Arequipa, we will make a couple more stops -- first at the Salinas and Aguada blanca national Reserve to see llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas and second at Patapampa Pass (4910 m.s.l.), the highest point on our trip where you can see the chain of volcanoes including Hualcahualca, Sabancalla, and Ampato. We’ll arrive back in Arequipa between 5:30-6pm.
