Colca Canyon Trek – Why 3 days is better than 2

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One thing I really enjoy about travelling is meeting people especially other travellers as it’s an opportunity to exchange information and experiences on places to visit, activities, places to stay the list goes on.  For the most part we have had great advice but on this occasion we wished we hadn’t listened to this particular traveller because I think we would have enjoyed Colca Canyon more if we had done a three day trek instead of two.

We arrived in Arequipa on an overnight Cruz Del Sur Bus from Nazca. We were travelling with our Dutch friend Saskia who we met on the Laguna 69 trail near Huaraz.  We booked ourselves into the Arequipay Backpackers Downtown Hostel and through them we booked the two day Colca Canyon trek starting the next day.  We spent the day exploring the UNESCO world heritage white city so named because of its baroque buildings constructed from local white silar rock.   The historical city centre is truly magnificent, the beautiful bustling Plaza De Armas was fringed with  shops, terraced restaurants and the 17th century neoclassical Basilica Cathedral.  Arequipa has plenty of historical sites and museums to keep us amused for a few days when we return from our trek including the Monasterio de Santa Catalina which we very much looking forward to exploring.  More about our wanderings in Arequipa in another blog.

For now the three of us just enjoyed strolling the streets admiring the architecture, posing for a photo with a couple of indigenous girls trying to pass a baby goat off for a baby Llama! enjoying a relaxing  lunch and cocktail at one of the local cafe’s (Inkari) which quickly became a favourite 🙂  It was hard not to love this beautiful city with its relaxed atmosphere, stunning architecture and cafe culture.  I was our third South American city and it was the first time I actually felt “safe” and totally at ease, far more than I had done in Lima and Quito.

 Day 1 – Colca Trek

A 3am rise was rude to say the least!  It was dark and cold.  Arequipa sits at an altitude of 2,328 meters and it was already heading into late May and soon to be winter.  We were last to be picked up so we took the remaining three seats at the back of the bus.  Even though we had blankets supplied to us it was still a chilly 3 hour ride.  Trying to catch a few extra winks wasn’t possible so we engaged with bus mates in close proximity. Sitting at the back with us was an Aussie girl from Victoria and in front was an English couple.  Our first stop was breakfast at the village of Chivay.  It was an opportunity to get to know more people on the bus, some would be joining us for the two day trek the remainder would be doing the three day including the Aussie girl and the English couple.  We were encouraged by the guide to purchase water as it was the only opportunity until lunch.

Back in the minivan we had just pulled away when the most unfortunate event happened. A large bottle of water came down from the overhead baggage rack like a missile and hit the English guy square on his eyebrow. Any lower and it could have blinded him.  It created blood, lots of blood which made me feel a little woozy!  The poor guy put on a brave face and remained quite chirpy but it opened up quite a wound and must have hurt like hell.  The tour leader came to his aid and with the help of a first aid kit we had him fixed up in no time.   By now the sun was up and the dry Andean landscape came into view.

We stopped at the Cruz Del Condor for 45 minutes which is the best place for witnessing condors in flight.  To start with there was the odd one but suddenly another 10 or more came out of nowhere and they put on a magnificent spectacle.  The only other time we saw condors was in Otavalo Condor Park in Ecuador but they were in cages so we could see them up close. I have to say they are ugly birds but then they are a type of vulture.  It’s their size that captivates you with a wingspan up to 10 feet.

Away from the main view point a path wound its way across the cliff top to another view point where we were afforded great views of the Canyon. At a depth of 3270 meters it’s one of the deepest canyons in the world, more than twice that of the Grand Canyon.  My first observation was how dry and brown the canyon is, vegetation consisted of mainly low scrub, grassy knolls, succulents and cacti.

Twenty minutes further down the road from Cruz Del Condor was Pampa San Miguel at 3280 meters, our starting point for the trek.  Here we met our trekking guides (I can’t remember the name of ours) ,all I know he was a local from one of the indigenous tribes. We were now split up into our groups and the 3 day group went on ahead.  Our group of 7 (2 Aussies, 2 English, 1 Kiwi, 1 Dutch and an Irish lass) was quite small; I guess the 3 day trek was more popular.

The path was compact gravel and quite well defined. It started off as a gentle slope which quickly became steeper but was made easier by a series of switchbacks.  Basically you followed the switchbacks all the way down to the river.  Our trek to our lunch stop in the village of San Juan de Chuccho was around 3 hours.

Now the sun was up further it was much warmer and pleasant. The scenery was magnificent although it really didn’t change much!  Because of the nature of the track it was quite slippy in places so it was actually quite hard going especially on the toes and knees.

At one point I roller skated on the loose gravel and came down on my butt, I was glad when we reached a flatter rockier section.  Apart from a couple of donkeys we didn’t meet anyone or anything else, the other group were way off in front.

We were glad to reach the suspension bridge, our feet and knees were sore. We had come down nearly 1000 meters to 2300 meters, no wonder we were foot and knee sore!  A short climb took us up to a path that basically followed the river. Now we were down near the river there was an increase in foliage, some of which were fruit trees and bushes, we even walked through a small forest at one point. Our guide pointed out interesting medicinal plants and explained their uses.

One plant he showed us was  the prickly pear cactus which is home to a tiny bug known as Cochineal. The beetle when crushed produces a red dye which the locals use for colouring.  The Cochineal beetle dye has also become widely used world-wide as food colouring.

Walking through the forest on a narrow track flanked by stone walls reminded me of walking in England.  The village of San Juan de Chuccho was small and had very simple accommodation for those staying overnight. There was quite a crowd including the three day group. The Aussie girl we met on the bus was in a spot of bother; she had fallen over on the walk down and dislocated her thumb (Ouch!)  There wasn’t much she could do until she got out in a couple of days; a can of cold coke was being used as Ice!!  Lunch was very pleasant with soup, chicken, rice, vegetables and plantain and fruit for dessert. It was nice to stop and rest and get the boots off the already sore feet.  We had about an hour to rest before we had to push on, this is when I started to feel we had made the wrong decision in doing two days as I really didn’t feel like pushing on, I wanted to enjoy staying in this little village.

We had at least another three hours of walking following the river.  We climbed up another 360 meters to the village of Cosnirhua where we stopped for a short break.  Then it was a 500 meter downhill which my toes didn’t like one bit, to our night’s stop Sangalle or otherwise known as Oasis.  By the time we reached Oasis it was later in the afternoon and we were tired and footsore, it had been a very long day having been awake since 3am!

The sun had disappeared behind the top of the canyon and the temperature had dropped which made the pool less inviting, although it didn’t stop Vaughan taking a dip.  Our cute bungalows were simple but lovely with shared bathrooms.  There was a large bar which was already buzzing with a few other  travellers.  Oasis was very nice, the whole setting was spectacular, it literally was like a little Oasis of greenery flanked by sheer red cliffs.  I would had loved to have arrived here earlier in the day and had time to really enjoy the resort.  Tomorrow was another very early rise of 4:30am so it was going to be an early night but not before we enjoyed a nice banquet meal and drinks at the bar.

Day 2 – Colca Trek

We were up at 4:30am for our 3 to 4 hour climb of 1120 meters out of the canyon.  Yesterday’s hike was tough on the knees and toes; this morning’s trek was going to be hard going on the thighs and lungs.   It was dark so we started off with head torches climbing up and it was a good hour or more before we had enough light to see our surroundings. We were not the only ones slogging it up the hill, there were a few more joining us.  Once we had daylight the views were amazing and surprisingly I enjoyed the uphill more than I thought, although it was still tough and slow going as we were at altitude so had to stop a few times.  We passed a couple of girls that really were struggling to the point one was practically in tears. I was at the back of the group most of the time with the guide so it was an opportunity to find out more about him. He told me that even though he enjoyed guiding and he never got bored, it did mean it was hard for him to get a girlfriend as he is never home!

It was a relief to finally reach the top (3280 meters) and real sense of achievement especially as yesterday was a very long day and we felt we hadn’t rested enough from it.  Another reason why I think the three day trek is better than the two day trek.

At the top we had the celebratory group photo then it was an easy walk through farmland to the pretty village of Cabanaconde where we enjoyed a hearty breakfast.   Shortly after breakfast we had a quick stroll around the village which has a very pretty main square and church. We said goodbye to our trek guide before boarding the minibus for our journey back to Arequipa but not without a few stops first!

Our first stop was Wayrapunka view point to see the Inca Terraces. Together with the scenery they were pretty impressive.  We continued on to what we were really looking forward to – La Calera thermal baths. We were looking forward to soaking the sore feet and aching muscles in 38C.  The pools were of varying temperatures and if you felt like cooling off then you could take a dip in the river that ran alongside.  I didn’t take my camera (hence why no photos) as there was nowhere to securely store it. As it was someone stole my water bottle which didn’t please me as I was gasping for a drink at one point!

We stopped in Chivay for lunch and had a little time to look around the town which had a nice central plaza.

Back on the road to Arequipa we drove through some of the most impressive scenery yet reaching an altitude of 4900 meters at Patapampa.  The volcanic landscape was amazing and you could see the road we were taking disappear off into the never ending distant landscape.  Up here there was no vegetation, it was like being in a moonscape; we really enjoyed the views except it was freezing cold so we didn’t hang around for too long.  The usual plethora of locals selling everything Alpaca/Llama had set themselves up hoping to snare a few tourists.

Leaving this incredible landscape we continued on where we stopped at the national reserve for Lllamas.  Getting a decent photo was somewhat of a challenge.  They seem intent on showing us their best side, so I have a great photo of about 100 Llama and Alpaca arses! A little further down the road we came across a group of vicuñas which are the smallest of the Camelids.  It was the first time we had seen them in the wild; apparently they have the best and softest wool which is quite expensive to buy. We arrived back in Arequipa around 6pm.  I have to say the drive back was exceptional; the scenery was captivating, not sure I could say the same for the suburbs of Arequipa though!

So what did we think?

The tour itself was excellent but we didn’t enjoy the canyon as much as we thought we would.  I didn’t think the canyon was as spectacular compared to other places we have been like Tiger Leaping Gorge in China and we haven’t been to the Grand Canyon yet!  I also know for sure that if we had done three days instead of two we would have definitely enjoyed it more and here is why:

• A 3 day trek is less rushed, you have time to take in the grandeur and stop to smell the roses! I felt we had passed through it in a blink of an eye.
• You get to spend more time with the locals and enjoy staying in their community.
• Day two is a leisurely 3 hour stroll so you arrive at Oasis at lunchtime so you have time to enjoy the resort and its pool! By the time we got to Oasis the sun had already disappeared and we were too knackered anyway to enjoy the resort.
• You have far more time to rest and recover from day 1. The first day you are awake from the wee hours of the morning so by the time its gets to early evening you just want to go to bed. Then you’re back up early again on the last day for the 1120 meter climb out the canyon.

Like the photos?  you can view the full gallery here..

Have you trekked Colca Canyon?  Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!