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Navigating Peru's overlooked canyon country
Except for the most seasoned of travelers, most people would not know that the world's deepest canyon is tucked away in southern Peru. I was, however, not man enough (read: too poor to get there) to climb down Canon del Cotahuasi. Instead, I was quite content to exploring Canon del Colca, which conveniently happens to be the second deepest canyon in the world (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the US).
And by quite content, I mean absolutely miserable-that is, until I got to the tropical oasis at the bottom of the canyon.
Getting oriented
My girlfriend Charlotte and I had just driven down from Lima to Arequipa, a beautiful city that's on the World Heritage List-and which I'll write about in a later post. Arequipa and the neighboring canyon country is the equivalent of South America's New Zealand. In other words, it's an outdoor adventurer's haven: mountain-biking down El Misti volcano, rafting through the Majes canyon, and exploring the petroglyphs at Toro Muerto.
We chose to hike down Colca Canyon since we would see a lot on the way, and it wouldn't take up a whole lot of time (we had to get to Cusco for our Inca trail hike). By the way, exploring the canyon country is a great way of getting acclimated for Cusco and the Inca trail, since you'll be at similar altitudes and exerting yourself physically. Just be prepared to be woozy and nauseous for the first couple days.
Along the way
In Arequipa, we hired a driver, got a van, and found a guide. Then we headed up. Before Cocla Canyon, you pass a delightful patch of rolling hills known as Reserva Nacional Salinas that reminded me of Argentina's pampas. It's a wildlife reserve and where I took the above shot of all those llamas and vicunas (a rare relative).Then you climb about 4,000 feet and drive a couple hours until you reach the town of Chivay. This is a transportation hub that connects all the villages on both sides of Colca Canyon-which stretches for 100 kilometers. There's a delicious hot spring right outside of Chivay that we enjoyed for a luxurious hour.
The trip between Chivay and Cabanaconde-the point where we started descending into the canyon-takes another couple of hours. Along the way you'll stop by several charming little villages. There's also Cruz del Condor, a famous viewpoint where if you're lucky, you can spot families of huge Andes condors.
The climb
We spent the night in Cabanaconde so that we could get up the next morning at 4 am (our crazy but enthusiastic guide wanted us up at 3) to begin our trek. You actually want to start as early as you can stay out of the beating sun as much as possible. The trek down took roughly two hours-it's very steep and hard on your knees. But once you're down, you're in paradise. (Seriously, one of the hotels at the bottom is called Paradaiso Bungalows).If you've been clever-which wasn't us-you would've spent at least a night down here, just chilling. There's several swimming pools that are allegedly powered by hot springs, though it was cold when we got there. From this oasis, officially known as Sangalle, you can actually climb up the other face of the canyon to a village called Tapay, and from there even get back to Arequipa. But we went back up the way we came, which is a grueling three hour minimum climb. However, you can rent a horse or mule, which is what I copped out and did.
Here's where I have to give the mandatory shout-out to Charlotte for climbing her way up the second deepest canyon in the world all by herself. Sorry you have such a lame boyfriend!
Transportation
There are local buses from Arequipa to Chivay and Cabanaconde for a few dollars. You can also rent a car or hire a driver ($250 to Cabanaconde and back).
Guides
Local guides in Cabanaconde can be hired for a few dollars, though the trip is easily DIY. Horses are roughly $10 for a trip up or down.Travel agencies
Both offer standard two-day Colca Canyon tours (tour-bus style) for $50-$100.
- Colca Trek-mountaineering, mountain-biking, and rafting trips.
- Carlos Zarate Adventures-a local company that's been around since 1954
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