As already mentioned in our post about Arequipa we planned a new adventure after some relaxing days in the white city. This time we thought about an easy 2-day hike into the famous Colca Canyon.
Mostly everybody we talked to already did or wanted to do this famous tourist activity. So we thought what the hell…yes “hell” indead. The tour mentioned at our hostel as an easy trek was basically a huge understatement. 😅🙄
Day 1…
The early start at our hostel at 3:30 in the morning was of course exhausting but not the worst part of the first day. A 6-hour drive by bus lead us deep into the mountains. Our first stop was supposed to be a nice breakfast buffet so that we could strenghten for the first 3 hour long hike afterwards.
We should have realized at this moment that this trip was going to be “great”! The breakfast buffet consisted of some old bread with some jam swimming around in a big bowl. Added to this big variation were some cold scrambled eggs that were uneatable. So we were off to a great start into the day! In the back of our minds we had always the thought how much more we paid for this tour then everybody else…nothing new for us. 😅
Finally arriving near the canyon and at the famous Condor’s Cross viewpoint gave us a first impression how deep the canyon really is. Time for some facts:
- The Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon!
- You can find over 100 kinds of birds, over 300 types of plants and more than 30 types of cactus.
- Condor’s Cross viewpoint is famed as the best place in South America to see the Andean Condor flying.
Sounds and looks quite impressive, right?! 😅 Yes the view was great from up there and we got lucky that we saw 2 condors flying by. It was off season for them, so normally you can see a lot more at the Condor’s Cross.
Hitting rock bottom
But we weren’t just there for the condors…too bad…that would have been much easier. After the big breakfast we started our trek at around 9 a.m. At first our guide lead us on a quite easy path around the mountain and we could enjoy the view from up there. But then he mentioned that it was time to get all the way down…over 1,000 meters into the canyon! We were already breathing heavily up there. So you can imagine how it was going downwards on this great path of stones.
Over 3 hours of trekking just downwards left us with heavy shaking knees when we finally made it. But of course when you go all the way down into a canyon you have to go up again…we still really don’t get it why people do this! Why hike downwards into a canyon and then all the way up again. 😅🤔
Around one more hour upwards and we finally got some rest at our lunch place. All the people from our group were looking forward to this. But as we got our food plate I think everybody remembered breakfast…yes it didn’t really get better. Not even something to drink was included in our lunch menu. We definitely weren’t the only ones pissed about the bad organization! 🤬
Onward and upward
Not happy with the food it was even harder to continue another 3-hour-trek after lunch. The only thought that kept us going was the promised accomodation with a pool to relax. So we followed our guide further down and up again. The guide was the only upside as he showed and explained a lot about the flora and fauna of the canyon.
But the next downside wasn’t far. We were told to bring water for the first day of the hike, which is totally okay. But what to do for the next day….just buy overpriced water on the way! Great solution to a great organization again. 🤣😅
Finally with our last breath we arrived at our accomodation. A strange feeling when we saw the buildings in the morning from the top of the mountain. And there was really a pool!
One night in the canyon
We finished our first 6-hour-trek. What a “great” feeling! That’s what all the trekking loving people would say. We were just so exhausted and were promising each other to never do that again! 😅
But now the evening was free to relax and enjoy our accomodation. After all the great stuff so far we weren’t expecting much, so we weren’t really sad that our accomodation looked the worst from every other we passed so far. The pool was a great refreshment nonetheless!
We were already looking forward to dinner when we arrived around 4:30 p.m. But the horror didn’t end for us. We had to wait for something to eat until 7:30 p.m…of course we had to be the last tour group that got something to eat.
As our day wasn’t long enough we waited and passed the time with some overpriced beer. Luckily the people from our group were really great! We met someone who dived with whale sharks and he showed us some video of this experience. Also he told us about his Ayahuasca trip and we got a bit intrigued. 😅
Finally (yes we have to write that a lot) we had our cold spaghetti and even some tea. We “enjoyed” it as fast as we could and went FINALLY to bed.
The way out…
Wake up time 4:30 a.m., no breakfast, 1,100 meters to climb to get out of this hell hole…nothing much to say about this part! 😥
The only thing that must be mentioned is that it was really one of the hardest hikes/treks/whatever we both ever did. No it isn’t an easy trek as the pictures hopefully show. With extremely aching muscles, blisters and total exhaustion we made it to the top! Definitely never again!
On the way back the thought of our bed of course put a big smile on our faces. But also we got really lucky to see a lot of wild Alpacas, Lamas and even some Vicuñas! 😍 The small Vicuñas are rare to see as they are one of the wild South American camelids…That was at least a nice ending to our trip…
I have met these guys and I can tell you guys they are really cool!