Arequipa - Trekking through the Canon de Colca

From Paracas, we embarked on another endless bus journey, precisely 16 hours, heading further south to Arequipa. The beautiful city is nestled between 3 volcanoes - the active and perfectly cone-shaped El Misti, Cachani, and Pichu Pichu. In the city center, you will find colonial buildings made of the white volcanic stone called sillar.

On the first day, together with Julia and Thomas from Munich (we successfully completed the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu together), we went on a sightseeing tour of the city. We visited the Cathedral and the Santa Catalina Monastery, which added some cultural experiences to our program.

Together, we decided to do a two-day trek through the Canon de Colca. The next day, we started early at 03:00 (!!!) when the bus picked us up. After what felt like an eternity, we arrived in Chivay and had breakfast. After a short detour to Cruz del Condor, a viewpoint where you can actually observe condors, we continued until we reached the starting point of the hike. There, we met our guide Elvis, who made a good impression at first but gradually disappointed throughout the trek. Our group consisted of 14 people, even though we were assured during the booking process that the group would have a maximum of 8-10 people. Well, that's South America for you. On the first day, we descended deep into the canyon, covering the first 7 km downhill on narrow paths. After crossing the river and having a not very satisfying lunch (with only a few pieces of alpaca meat), we hiked another 7 km up and down until we reached the oasis in the middle of the canyon. The whole hike was a bit challenging as we had to take countless breaks due to some members of the group not being very fit. Moreover, it was very hot and dusty. The accommodation was very basic but equipped with a great pool. Since the hike took us so long and the sun had already set, we only briefly jumped into the pool to get rid of the dust. After a beer and dinner, we went to bed early.

On the second day, the challenge was to climb out of the canyon. In the early morning, equipped with flashlights, we started at 5:00 without breakfast. The total distance was 5 km uphill with a 1100 m difference in altitude. According to the guide, it takes about 3 hours to complete the route. However, as our group took unnecessary breaks again, the Tres Amigos (Julia, Thomas, and I) separated from the group and steadily climbed up the steep path with few breaks to maintain our rhythm. Still in training mode from the Salkantay Trek, we completed the route in just 02:20 hours and arrived at the top as the first of the group, happy but exhausted and covered in dust. Our guide needed almost an entire extra hour. We had to walk another 20 minutes to reach the well-deserved but disappointingly bad breakfast. From there, we took a bus to various viewpoints and a hot spring, where we could relax in the hot water for 1 hour, before returning to Arequipa. In the evening, we celebrated Julia's birthday with wine, pasta, and crepes, even though we were all pretty worn out.