One of the key reasons to visit Arequipa is to visit the Colca Canyon. The Colca Canyon is one of the deepest in the world. I’ve heard some conflicting stats- either that it’s the second or third largest. In either case, it’s super deep: twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
There are a few different ways you can see it depending on how much time you have and your appetite for hiking, so I opted for a three-day trek. The bus picked us up at 3 AM for a four hour drive to the start of the hike. Along the way, we stopped for breakfast (it was lame- just bread and jam in a freezing restaurant) and at a viewpoint where you’re supposed to be able to see condors, but we didn’t glimpse any. It still offered some great views though.
No condors, but still not too shabby
At about 8:30, we got going on the trail. Our group had eight people in total. Myself, Trace (a girl I met on the Peru Hop bus), a Belgian couple, an Australian couple, a guy from the states named Jason, and our guide, Giancarlo. Giancarlo decided that our group would be called The Pumas, and our catchphrase was “Hakuna Matata.”
The first day we just walked down, down, down for about 3.5 or 4 hours. I thought going downhill was easy, but it was actually pretty rough on my butt!
We hiked allll the way down to the river in the middle of this photo
Once we reached near the bottom of the canyon, we stopped at Familia Gloria, our rustic homestay for the night.
We were all pretty hungry for lunch, which unfortunately turned out to be a pretty small portion of lomo saltado. For the rest of the afternoon we just chilled out- figuratively and literally- it was really cold down there! There was of course no Wifi or TV or anything, but luckily someone brought a pack of cards so we played a few rounds to kill time. Dinner was a small vegetarian meal, so we all went to bed a bit hungry :( Breakfast was a little more filling, and much cuter:
The next day was another 3.5 hour hike to “The Oasis” - it was more of a mix of uphill/downhill and flat, and we started at 8:30, not 3 AM, so I was in much better spirits! The Oasis is truly that, a small lodge with green grass, fruit trees, and even a pool! It wasn’t super warm, but we all jumped in anyway to celebrate making it to the bottom of the canyon (and, at least for me, to wash the sweat and dirt off myself!).
The guys playing soccer in the oasis
For those that do the trek in two days, they walk all the way to The Oasis in one day; I was really glad I’d opted to do the longer, slower version of the trek. The lunch portions were similarly small, but at this point we’d come to have lower expectations for the food on this trip. After lunch some of the guys played soccer, I read a book, and then took what ended up being a super long nap! The Oasis had some games, so we played a little Jenga. Then our guide Giancarlo but on some Peruvian music and taught us a dance, which seemed to mostly consist of jogging in place with an occasional kick. It got our heart rates up, that’s for sure!
For dinner, we finally had a big plate of pasta to prepare us for the hardest part of the trek the next day! We started the hike at 4:30 AM, and it was 3 hours of an unrelenting uphill climb. We all took it at our own pace, and even though I was one of the slower hikers, I finally made it to the top, with the help of some podcasts on my cell phone to distract me. Once we reached the top of the canyon, it was another 30 minutes of walking on flat ground to our breakfast destination (yes, we did that whole hike BEFORE breakfast, but don’t worry we all had snacks).
After a hearty (well, for Peru) breakfast, we hopped on a bus back to Arequipa. We stopped along the way at a restaurant with a lunch buffet. The guys in the group went crazy eating everything they could after our meager meals over the last few days. I took it a little easier than they did :)
After lunch we stopped at some hot spring pools, which felt AMAZING after three long days of hiking. I didn’t feel sore the next day, and I definitely credit the pools for that!
The hike was challenging at times, especially with the early wakeup times, but it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far. The views were amazing, I got to push myself physically, and I loved the people in my group. There’s nothing like accomplishing something together, and a lack of technology, to bond with new people. I had a great time getting to know them, and we all hung out again once back to civilization.
Pumas on the trek!
Back in Arequipa, Trace and I shared a hotel room back at Casa de Avila, where I enjoyed the longest shower ever, and then we treated ourselves to a nice Italian meal before collapsing to bed after our big hike!