Experience the Colca Canyon, the world’s deepest, on this relaxed 2-day tour from Arequipa. Cross the high Andean reserve spotting vicunas, take in volcano views, overnight in Chivay with optional hot springs, and watch condors soar at the Cruz del Condor before returning.
Suitable for all ages.
Accommodation in Chivay and breakfast at the hotel the next morning are part of the price, along with hotel pickup in Arequipa, transport and your bilingual guide. Dinner in Chivay and the buffet lunches are not included, and the thermal baths or the folkloric dinner show on the first evening are optional extras you decide on once you are there.
In cash and in soles: the Colca tourist ticket at S/ 70 for foreign visitors, S/ 35 per buffet lunch, S/ 15 if you use the thermal baths, plus dinner in Chivay. Take enough for the whole trip before leaving Arequipa, as cash machines in Chivay are unreliable and nothing on the route takes cards.
Because the night in Chivay does the work the pre-dawn drive does on the one-day tour. You travel in daylight, see the reserve and the Patapampa viewpoint properly, arrive in the afternoon with time to acclimatise, and reach the Cruz del Condor the next morning already rested and adjusted to the altitude. It is the same canyon, experienced without the exhaustion.
The Patapampa viewpoint, on the way to Chivay, sits at around 4,900 m, which is higher than anything most travellers reach in Peru. The stop is short, but you feel it. Chivay itself is at 3,635 m against 2,335 m in Arequipa, so the overnight also serves as acclimatisation if you are heading to Cusco or Puno afterwards.
No. This is the version of Colca without trekking: viewpoints, villages and the condors, all reached by vehicle with short walks. There are optional hikes near the Cruz del Condor if you feel like stretching your legs, but nothing is required. If you want to descend into the canyon itself, that is the two- or three-day trekking version.
