Colca Canyon is one of the deepest canyons in the world which goes twice as deep as Grand Canyon in USA. Take a look at this beauty:

Every curious hiker and avid backpacker to South America cannot skip the visit to this beautiful part of Southern Peru on their itinerary. Here’s why Colca Canyon is your next essential stop point in Peru:

• It is amazingly well-preserved nature easily accessible from the city of Arequipa (mere 3 hours car ride) that offers truly unique and raw cultural experience from other parts of Peru.
• You have chance to witness the spiritual creature soaring above your head at Cruz del Condor. Condor is considered one of the holiest animals in Peruvian religion and therefore brings luck to your life journey.
• Trekking down the canyon ridge is not too difficult, yet offers dramatic vistas of deep canyon as you descend down. Ascension part can get challenging, but there is an optional donkey ride to abridge the toughest part of the visit 🙂
• There is an oasis-like resort (Sangalle) at the bottom of the canyon that provides nice resting nest for travelers.

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↑Watch “Vision of Arequipa and Colca Canyon” in Full HD video.

Choose your timeline

Just like every other attraction in Peru, Colca Canyon tour can easily be booked through local tour companies or hotel front desks. There really is no hassle of booking the tour in advance and pay the extra booking fees. Colca Canyon tour goes on all around the year and it departs from various hotels and landmarks in Arequipa.

Colca Canyon tour that I joined was 1 Night 2 Days.
Although many people recommended 3 Days itinerary, I was quite satisfied with the experience. As you can see in my video below, the tour included transportation to-from my hostel in Arequipa to Colca Canyon by way of Cruz del Condor (Condor viewpoint) and accommodation at Sangalle oasis. 2 Days package was perfect choice for me especially after finishing 8 days backpacking hikes in Machu Picchu and my body was starting to get strain after amazing cultural experience at Lake Titicaca.

Transportation from Arequipa to Colca Canyon took approximately 3 and half hours including short stops at restaurant for breakfast in Chivay

Soothing short stop at hot spring spa on the way back from Cabanaconde to Arequipa.

Sancayo is Colca Canyon’s popular fruits. It makes an ingredient for Colca Sour cocktail.

Note: Sancayo ice cream is a must try!

Colca Canyon trip may easily be bundled with visit to historical city of Arequipa. Arequipa is Peru’s colonial-time capitol and also known as Ciudad de Blanca (the White City) because of impressive pale stone construction. Time you spend in Arequipa may become one of the most memorable parts of your Peruvian journey if not the best time you ever have as backpacker — Arequipa has amazing food at affordable price, mind blowing landscape surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges, and great deal of archaeological sites to immerse yourself in Andean history.

Here’s some recommended places to visit while you are in Arequipa:

Essential Arequipa

As mentioned above, Arequipa used to be the old capital of Peru. Colonizers has utilized this city as their settlement and thus many vestiges of history can be seen everywhere in the city. The city is also a permanent neighbor to grandiose Misti — stratovolcano stands at 19,101ft — and other high mountains awed and worship as Andean deity.

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Two monasteries: Santa Catalina Monastery and Santa Teresa Monastery open doors for visitors to see and learn the lifestyle of nuns as well as magnificent Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa in the heart of Plaza de Armas captivates the eyes of every visitor. If you are curious shopper, Mercado San Camilo is a perfect market place to flex your wallet.

—- Santa Catalina Monastery —-

—- Santa Teresa Monastery —-

—- Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa —-

古から伝わる儀式用の飾り。上に乗っているのはアルパカの子供の骨。

儀式用のアルパカのミイラ。

—- Mercado San Camilo —-

Juanita

Arequipa is no stranger to Andean mythology. Misti and surrounding volcanoes are known as ritual sites of ancient Inca and led many fearless adventurers to search for archaeological remains.
One perfect example that pulled everyone’s attention to Arequipa was a discovery of mummified girl named Juanita in 1995 at Mount Ampato after merely 5 centuries of natural refrigeration.
A body of Juanita can still be seen at Museo Santuarios Andinos. This is essential site to visit in Arequipa.

ギニーピッグはペルー国民にとっては神聖な食材。大聖堂の天井に掲げられたペルー版「最後の晩餐」にも描かれているこのギニーピッグの料理はクリスマスや特別な行事の時のみに食される特別な食材です。

海老のスープには贅沢な量の海老や貝類が煮詰められていて、よーく火の通った柔らかい殻はそのまま食することが出来ます。

Picanteria — Local Style Eat

Picanteria is a traditional eatery established to offer Arequipa’s local cuisine and beverages. There are many picanterias around Arequipa and each one of them offers truly authentic experience. I would like to recommend two picanterias that I have visited La Capitana and La Nueva Palomino. Go either one of these picanteria and order chupa de camarones (shrimp soup). If you are so curious go ahead and order quy (guinea pig) which is considered as celebratory feast in Peruvian culture. As a general precaution, be careful with chicha (fermented corn wine) as it may send you straight to toilet for couple of days if your stomach is not tolerable to fermented beverage.

Another popular Peruvian cuisine is pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) which you can find it at almost every restaurant. My absolute recommendation is Corte Azul Rest. & Parrillas located on Calle de Misti (Misti 403). I stumbled upon this restaurant by luck and ordered the pork chop which turned out to be BEST one I’ve ever had in my life. Meals are generally inexpensive and come out less than $10 for seating at most restaurants.

While you are in Arequipa, do not miss stopping at Chaqchao Chocolates conveniently located in the heart of the city. This is a nice cafe to stop for chocolate infused beverage and Peruvian microbrew beers. The cafe has free wifi, so it’s perfect place to stop for reconnection with social network.

Arequipa is a beautiful city that preserves many histories and known for its supreme cuisine. I would highly recommend visiting here on your Peruvian trip and try out the restaurants and points of interest that I shared with you today.

As always, please feel free to drop the line if you need more travel advise, and please share the post among your friends and family who may benefit from reading.

All the best,
-Kosuke

Interested in buying the original prints of photos in this post? Contact me directly kosuke1223@gmail.com for pricing inquiries! Thanks!