Colca Canyon - our journey into the deepest canyon in the world

Early in the morning, we set off from Puno towards Colca Canyon in a tourist bus. We had booked a two-day trek and wanted to hike into the canyon and back out the next day. Most tours start from the city of Arequipa at three o'clock in the morning, but since we came from the other direction, we avoided this unnecessary back and forth and spent the night before in the small village of Yanque, near the actual starting point of the hike. During the six-hour bus ride, we made some interesting stops, including Patapampa, the highest pass of our entire trip at 4950m, where we had a view of several snow-covered mountains ranging from 5000-6000m in height, where the Amazon River originates. We also saw numerous vicuñas in the national park area, which is a shy and wild camel species of Peru with the softest animal fiber in the world (incredibly fluffy, but also very expensive).

The so-called Canyonland here around Arequipa is 3400m deep at its deepest point, surpassing the Grand Canyon by twice its depth. Although the Cotahuhasi Canyon, also located in this area, is actually the deepest canyon in the world, we decided to take a tour here in the nearby Colca Canyon, which is more accessible for hikers.

Early in the morning, we were picked up by a kind of colectivo with other hikers from different tour operators at the small market square, where the students perform a traditional dance performance every morning at seven o'clock to raise some money. Here, the men also wear large colorful skirts.

Our first stop on the tour was the Cruz del Condor, a viewpoint where the mighty Andean condors can be observed particularly well during their majestic gliding flights in the thermal air currents. The condor is the largest raptor in the world and can have a wingspan of up to three meters. This bird, belonging to the vultures, was considered sacred by the Incas. Here, we spent half an hour taking countless photos and were able to admire several of these mighty birds in flight.

Our hike started in Cabanaconde at 3280m, and since we had booked with Carlitos Tours, it was once again a private tour with our guide Remy. The views into the depths of the canyon were already impressive, and we were about to descend all the way down to the Rio Colca, which meant a staggering 1200m of elevation difference. In switchbacks, partly over a lot of scree, we steadily descended, passing through a barren landscape and numerous cacti. Finally, we arrived at the bottom and crossed a bridge over the river to get to the other side of the canyon. Here, we had lunch in the village of San Juan.

For many other hikers, this is where their first day ends, either here or a little further in the oasis of Sangalle. But since we had once again chosen an alternative route to avoid the tourist flow, we continued for another 1 ½ hours to the village of Cosñirhua, where we were supposed to spend the night. For that, we had to hike uphill a little bit again, but in return, we had a simple accommodation with our own bathroom and hot water at a local's place (the standard is to camp or stay in a dormitory). Here, we had the pleasure of seeing a guinea pig farm in an authentic way and got to feed the little animals their evening meal. Additionally, Chris was expertly taught how to correctly de-spine and peel a cactus fruit.

Since the ascent of 1200m back up the entire canyon to Cabanaconde is exhausting and the sun mercilessly burns without any shade during the day, we set off in the middle of the night at the unearthly hour of 3 a.m. equipped with headlamps. First, we had to cross back to the other side of the river, and then the arduous ascent began at the Sangalle oasis, going all the way up just like the day before. In the dark, we unfortunately couldn't see much of the surrounding landscape, so we dragged ourselves uphill, still a little sleepy, bit by bit. It started to get light halfway up, and we enjoyed the coloring of the rocks and the surrounding mountains during the sunrise. Now, caravans of mules slowly passed us, patiently carrying up tourists who either shied away from the ascent from the beginning or gave up along the way. Yes, at times, I also wished to be sitting on the back of such a faithful friend because the path was long, and we got quite out of breath due to the altitude and the effort. After over four hours, we finally reached the top in Cabanaconde at the viewpoint and admired the panorama of the canyon, quite exhausted. Now, we finally had breakfast in the town before taking the colectivo on the way to Arequipa, making a relaxing stop at the thermal baths of Calera, where we could relax our tired muscles. Afterwards, we arrived in Arequipa within three hours, where we slept very well that night!