Colca Valley

The Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world, even deeper than the Grand Canyon. Therefore, we thought it would be fun to hike down and back up.

Our tour started at 3 in the morning when we were picked up at the hostel. Once we arrived in the Colca Valley, we went straight to a viewpoint for condors. These Andean birds have a wingspan of about 3 meters, and we had only seen them from afar until now, but at this point, they flew right by us. After that, we started hiking, descending 1,100 meters in 6 kilometers. Then we had lunch in the valley and continued another 11 kilometers. After what felt like endless walking, we reached the lagoon, a place in the middle of the gorge that is always green, with palm trees and fruit trees, a lagoon indeed. In the evening, we could relax in the pool.

We were woken up at 4:30 in the morning to hike back up the canyon, ascending 1,200 meters in 6 kilometers, wow, exhausting is an understatement! Then we had breakfast and went to thermal springs to relax our sore legs. After a local lunch, we took the tour bus back to Arequipa.

Originally, we wanted to learn more about life and culture in the canyon. The people who live there hike this trail multiple times a week, they are fit! Unlike us, they gracefully walk up and down the paths, often wearing sandals instead of hiking shoes. An obligatory pack mule is also part of their journey. However, since we were mainly focused on hiking, we didn't have much time to talk to the people there and learn more about life in the gorge, which is a pity!