HIKING IN THE COLCA CANYON

AREQUIPA - CHIVAY - SAN JUAN DE CHUCCHO
At 3AM pick-up from you hotel in Arequipa, orientation talking about our trek and journey for about 4 hours to Chivay which is the beginning of Colca Canyon Around 7AM we stop to use toilets and have delicious breakfast and then continue traveling by shared transport to Cabanaconde village (3280M) - Along the way to Cabanaconde we stop in some lookouts to get nice pictures of Colca valley and watch the fly of the Andean Condor crossing the canyon and showing the pretty of the fly.
Around 10AM everyone will be ready to begin the trek into the canyon from the left bank down to the bottom of the canyon - The nice downhill hiking takes not more than 4 hours following very good maintenance path to the Colca River (2160M) - All the way down includes amazing views of huge walls of the canyon with lot fauna and flora and good weather all around year - At the end of downhill we use all suspension bridge to cross the river and 30 minutes more of some uphill to reach the first family lodge at San Juan de Chuccho (Casa Roy Lodge) - The lodge offer great stay in small and very clean rooms with share/private bath and hot shower only if is available thanks to sunny days - Making camping is possible only for hiker booking Private Service otherwise stay in rooms - The lunch will be served by local family and vegetarian is available but this need to notify us at booking time.
After nice lunch and free time to SIESTA and around 4PM will be ALTERNATIVE uphill trek for about 1 hours to visit the ancient ruins of JajaTapay, the way is very clear with impressive view of the canyon and Colca valley - The tour guide will explain about the ruins and show you some remaining of pre-Inca cemetery under huge rocks - Downhill to the lodge to get early diner and rest (B - L - D).

SAN JUAN DE CHUCCHO VILLAGE - LLAHUAR HOT SPRING
At 7AM country breakfast and then star the trek through pre-Inca terraces and fruit trees along the way - After 1 hour of hiking up arrival to Cosñirhua village where we visit a local family, they will show how make their own economy according nature resource of this area. Continue hiking we stop to visit a local museum of flora and fauna of this region. Cosñirhua and Malata (2600m) are located on right bank of the canyon and protected by mountainous range.
Hiking through cactus forest and seeing the majestic Colca River and huge volcanic cliffs on the both side of the river, along the way is possible to pick up plenty of cactus fruits (January to May) and if you are lucky is possible to see Condor flying over the mountains look for their food. After 4 hour of trekking across Pacllia valley, this village is complete cover by Tuna cactus and makes very interesting to see many type of birds, medicinal plants and local people working on their daily activities just next to our trail.
After 6 hours we cross the Llatica River by suspension bride and from there continue to Llahuar lodge. Llahuar is a nice and peaceful place running by local family. Lunch is located between the encounter of Colca and Llatica Rivers and that makes very nice place to spend the night. After lunch you are free all afternoon to enjoy the hot spring (40ºC) next of the river. At 7PM nice dinner accompanied by wonderful starry sky over the mountains, tonight we stay in bamboo cabins (B - L - D).

LLAHUAR HOT SPRING - AREQUIPA
Today we have two options on the way to Arequipa, see below:

OPTION A: If you book your trip with Group Service (join up to 12 hikers) you will walk up at 2AM and then have simple breakfast and start the trekking following a serpentine trail up to Cabanaconde (5 hours). You will approximately 3 hours in the dark until the first sun rising. This is the hardest part of this trek. Arrival to Cabanaconde we try another delicious breakfast and then transfer to the Condor cross to see again the flight of the birds or if you like we can have directly transfer (public bus) to Chivay and there you have plenty of time to enjoy the hot spring of la Calera. Return to Chivay to have lunch and after that we take our public bus to travel back to Arequipa, normally the bus arrive Arequipa between 4PM and 6PM.
OPTION B: If you book Private Service is the best way for this day. You can wake up at 5AM or 6AM we breakfast as we watch the sunrise light up the canyon. A short (two hour) relatively level trek along the left bank of the Colca River, takes us across abandoned terraces completely covered by cactus through a small valley called Soro (2050m). All too quickly we pass abandoned farms and several working farms, pick our last tuna (January to April), offered by the farmers and then we cross a suspension bridge over the Colca River to meet our 4WD. It's a breathtaking drive back up the canyon along a serpentine road smoothly executed by our experienced drivers. The views beckon us to make several photographic stops because it's hard to imagine that what's to come can quite match the current scene. The magnificent views continue for the next as we make our way to Huambo (2900m), a village surrounded by green terraces, a lovely town square, and a different group of people (do you know their ethnic identity?) wearing different local dress. At the highest point of our journey in the Andean range, at the "Mirador del “Ampato" we have a good view of the Ampato, a snow covered mountain. In 1995 the mummy of 14 year old "Juanita" was found by climbers. We continue on to see two small volcanoes in the vast Pampa de Qerqe (whose summit is only 300m). Descend to the coast of Arequipa and then we take the Pan-Americana highway to your hotel in Arequipa - Today the tour ends around 6PM (B - L - D).