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2 Days
50 miles
Moderate
3500 msnm
Classic Tour
Up to 8 people
Department: Arequipa
Location: The Colca Canyon is located in the northeastern region of Arequipa, in the province of Caylloma, 165 kilometers from the city of Arequipa and Chivay 40 km from main town and capital of the province of Caylloma.
How to get to Colca: You must hire a Colca tour from the city of Arequipa, or take a city bus to Chivay (160 km) from the bus terminal in Arequipa.
Routes of access: The Colca Valley can be reached from the city of Arequipa, to the capital of Valle, Chivay, passing 160 km. paved road travel approximately 3 hours.
Weather in the Colca Valley: From December to March rainy all year sunny during the day and cold at night, average temperature 10 º C.
ATTRACTIONS IN COLCA CANYON
The canyon is home to the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus), a species that has seen world-wide effort to preserve it. The condors can be seen at fairly close range as they fly through the canyon walls and are an increasingly popular attraction. ‘Cruz del Condor’ is a popular tourist stop to view the condors, the pass where condors soar gracefully on the rising thermals occurring as the air warms. The condors are best seen in the early morning and late afternoon when they are hunting. At this point the canyon floor is 3,960 ft (1,200 m) below the rim of the canyon.
The La Calera natural hot springs are located at Chivay, the biggest town in the Colca Canyon.
You can enjoy a 2 day tour, seeing the nice flight of the Condors and enjoying the great Hot Springs and the local culture.
We start our Colca tour Colca 2 days 1 night from Arequipa at 8:00 am.; we pick you up from your hotel with our private transport. After 2 hours driving we cross by the National Reservation of Vicuñas (Salinas and Aguada Blanca). Then we stop at Patahuasi, where we can appreciate the Misti Volcano. Here we have to drink a “Coca Tea” (Mate de coca) to avoid altitude sickness, in this stop there is a market of local handicrafts, then we continue in our minibus. We arrive at 4,900 mts., of altitude, and from there we can appreciate the view of all the volcanoes of the area, like Misti, Chachani, and Ampato (the mountain where Mummy Juanita was found), and also we can see mountains like Sabancaya, Halka Halka, Chucura and more. We continue in our transport and we arrive to Chivay at 13.30 (the capital of Colca/Caylloma region). Here we have lunch in a traditional restaurant, then we have 30 minutes free time in town after that we visit the Calera Hot Springs, very hot and clean swimming pools, then we go to our hotel in Chivay.
We have breakfast at 6:00 am., we take the way to the Cruz Del Condor with our transport; this will take us about 2 hours driving. During the way we stop to take pictures of the villages of the other side of the canyon, like Coporaque, Ichupampa and Lari, finally we arrive to Cruz del Condor view point. From here we can appreciate the Colca canyon and the impressive condors fly, after this we return to Chivay to have lunch, visiting interesting villages like Pinchollo, Maca and other places. After having lunch in Chivay, we return to Arequipa arriving at 17:00 hours.
IMPORTANT NOTE :
CLIMATE
From December to March rainy all year sunny during the day and cold at night, average temperature 10 º C.
Rainy season in the Colca Canyon extends from December to March. April to November is sunny and dry. Temperatures remain cool throughout the year, but can drop down to freezing at night in the dry season months of June-August. For current weather conditions in Arequipa, Colca Canyon, and other destinations in Peru.
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