The Colca Canyon

They say visiting Arequipa without stopping at Colca Canyon is like going to Cusco without visiting Machu Picchu. In other words, it's a no-no!

Many options are available for the curious ones going to the canyon, generally excursions of one, two or three days. The ideal choice for us seemed obvious, particularly since we didn't have a lot of time : two days. We booked with Peru Schweiz Explorer, the company recommended at our hostel.

The one day trip includes breakfast, watching the condors fly, if you can spot one, a look at the canyon from the top of it, and, on the way back, a pit stop at a buffet and at thermal baths.

The two days one allows all of that but also makes you walk down the canyon. Those who choose the three days trip will only go down slower...


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Our shuttle picked us up at 3:30 AM. Squeezed for hours, we couldn't sleep too much before breakfast, which was mainly composed of empty bread.


We then had about 30 minutes to watch the condors. Strangers all get in a group on the side of the cliff hoping to see the birds on the horizon. It was only a couple of minutes before we left that we saw one fly for a few seconds. Just enough time to take a picture.


In the dust of the village of Cabanaconde, we touched ground for a long walk of 18,4 km going down. That's the beauty of a canyon, right? We go down forever, and after, one needs to go back up.

Anyway, we had dinner in the middle of nowhere before starting to walk again, encountering an improvised soccer field and walking down to Tapay Oasis, where we would spend the night. No cars, almost no electricity, just calmness. Ah! And basic toilets too.


From there, on the next day, we had to go back up. The day began at 5 AM. Slow people had to start earlier or to hire a mule. Breakfast? After the climb. Hard when you're not used to the altitude and you need to reach a peak at almost 4000 m. One needs to stop often, follow the rythmn of their breath, and breath again when the guide says : "already tired?". Here, the most shocking word is "already". Especially when there is about one more hour to go.

Once back at the top, one needs to walk again to the small village of Cabanaconde to earn their meal.

After, other than the stop at the thermal baths, which was very appreciated by our sore muscles, there was not one hole in the road that would have stopped us from sleeping. Efforts and lack of sleep made us very tired. Well deserved sleep.

Here is the video of me crossing a very unstable bridge (bringing us to the thermal baths). I had to stop filming to find my balance again.