Colca Canyon, Peru🥾

One of the main activities to do in Arequipa, is to visit and hike Colca Canyon. Colca Canyon is one of the world’s deepest canyons, stretching roughly 100km long, plunging to over 4,000 meters deep. Hiking Colca Canyon is known for its incredible surroundings, dramatic Andean landscapes where you can spend a night in the middle of the Canyon Oasis and for the chance to spot the Andean Condor throughout the hike!

The tour can either be one, two or three days, with the two and three day tour being very similar. The only difference is, the three day tour is extended, giving you more time to relax in between hiking. We went for the two day tour because we were tight on time and booked it with Collahua Tours, which cost us 240 SOLS each. For the hike, you only need a few clothes and we wanted to pack as light as possible to avoid having to lug a heavy backpack throughout the hike. We used Ned’s tiny Osprey backpack, which included two days worth of hiking clothes, thermals, waterproofs, swimming costumes, towels and toiletries. We definitely packed the lightest out of everyone and this definitely helped us when hiking! A full itinerary of the tour will be below.

Itinerary

Day 1
Day one included an early pick up at 3:30am from our hostel to begin the three hour drive to the starting point of the hike. After picking up everyone for the tour we made our way to our first stop, which was where we had breakfast. The food wasn’t that amazing, so definitely bring snacks to fuel you for the hike as you will definitely need it!

Mirador de Tunturpay Viewpoint
The first viewpoint we stopped at was Mirador de Tunturpay where you can see panoramic views of the canyon, the Colca River, its surrounding agriculture terraces and sometimes snowy mountains in the distance.

Cruz del Condor Viewpoint
The next stop was to Cruz del Condor, which is a famous viewpoint in Peru. It sits at around 3,800 meters high and is known for spotting and watching large Andean condors soar through the Canyon. We were really lucky and had two condors putting on a show for us! If you are doing the day tour, you have an hour to walk around the viewpoint following the different walking paths, as shown in the right picture below. For the two and three day tour you only have 30 minutes at this viewpoint before moving on!

After Cruz del Condor, we went to the starting point of the hike, which is where we got our things ready and split into the two and three day tour. Our guide gives us the rundown of what to expect; the first few hours are the easiest part of the hike before some steep sections down into the canyon. From the right photo below, you can see Oasis Sangalle, which is where you spend the night.

To get to the Oasis, it is roughly a 16km hike and the views on the way are absolutely incredible. If the weather is good and clear, you can see down the middle of the canyon and spot all the local villages dotted along the way. We were really lucky with our weather, it was sunshine and blue skies practically the whole way! For the hike, you can go at your own pace, taking in all the views and getting your photos. You will just need to meet the rest of your tour group before lunch, which we had around 12pm-12:30pm.

We had lunch at Roys Hotel, which is also where the three day tour stop for their first day and spend the night. The food was pretty decent, we had the most delicious guacamole to start, followed with alpaca, rice and vegetables. I graciously gave my alpaca to Ned because I didn’t want to eat it, so make sure to let the tour know of any dietary requirements. After lunch we had roughly another three hours to go till we made it to the Oasis. There are some food stalls towards the end, which you can buy water and snacks from. The water at these stalls were 7 SOLS, which is half the price from the water in the Oasis, so stock up here. Get some snacks for tomorrow’s hike as well, as you will need it for extra energy.

Oasis Sangalle
We finally got to the Oasis around 4:30pm and jumped into the pool straight away, so remember to bring your swimsuits. We then had two hours till our group dinner, which was at 7pm, so we made the most of the time to chill and reset!

The Oasis accommodation as a whole was pretty good, we had private huts and the beds were very comfortable. There were showers, but they were a little bit tepid, and there was a social area and bar. You can buy soft or alcoholic drinks at an additional cost, which we did before playing cards and socialising with our tour group whilst we waited for dinner to be ready. Once we had finished dinner, we all had an early night to rest as it was another early wake up call!

Day 2
Day two started with a 4:20am wake up call, to set off by 4:50am. This morning hike was brutal, it is only 6km to the top, but is the steepest hike ever. That coupled with the altitude, Ned was killed off by the end of it! Our incentive was breakfast at the end, yep, we don’t get food until we have finished, so definitely make sure to have some snacks as you will need the fuel. We got some biscuits and chocolate to get us through the hike, very healthy for a 5am snack!

Starting in the dark was hard, but once it became lighter we were able to see the sun begin to rise over the mountains. This vertical hike has an elevation gain of around 1,100 - 1,200 meters and is usually completed in around 3 hours. We somehow managed to get to the top in 2 hours 15 minutes, which was one of the quickest times out of all five groups. Our motto was, we can rest once it’s done, however, our body and legs were in bits! As we hiked, we also got to see the local mules who go up and down the mountain every day, we were very tempted to hop onto one at one point!

Once we were at the top, we had to wait for the rest of our group to finish, which allowed us to rest and relax with some hot coffee and snacks. Even though you are at the top, don’t be fooled, you still have to walk at least ten more minutes to breakfast, which is in town.

La Calera Hot Springs
After breakfast we went to La Calera Hot Springs, which was 20 SOLS extra each. We spent an hour relaxing in the different hot pools, which definitely helped our sore muscles and was a lovely way to end the trip!

After the hot springs, we started our long journey back to Arequipa. For lunch, we had a small break in between, at same restaurant where we had breakfast. Lunch is not included in the tour, but it is a self serve buffet serving all kinds of delicious dishes, however it is around an additional 40 SOLS each. After lunch we went straight back to Arequipa, where we are dropped off in town by the Plaza.

For us personally, the Colca Canyon hike is worth the horrendous 6km hike up. Even though it was probably one of the hardest hikes so far, the views we got on the first day as we walked down to the middle of the Oasis were just incredible. If you want to do the hike and have more time, you can do the three days instead to break up the hike, however, you will still need to do the hard 6km up on the last day! Either way, completely worth it and I highly recommend doing it!