Home to the largest flying bird in the world, the Condor, and measuring 3,270m or 4,160 m deep depending on who you ask and how you measure, the Colca Canyon is becoming a more and more popular destination in Southern Peru. We read so many raving reviews about it that we decided to scrap some of the other destinations (e.g. Nazca lines) to make sufficient time to hike it properly, in 3 days, without a guide. Given we already tried and tested the kids’ walking stamina, we found we could easily do this one on our own hoping that Nilay’s stomach bug in Arequipa was indeed only a 24h thing. Thierry spends a lot of time checking all kinds of agencies to see if we can get a package deal to drive us to the Cabanaconde and 3 days later take us straight to Ollantaytambo to catch our train to Machu Picchu. The estimates range from USD 750 to 1200 and so we decide to improvise as we go. On the morning of Sept 11 we head out early to catch a collectivo, those are mini buses that stop on roads and pick people up as they go. For 4EUR pp for this first 3.5 hour ride we got a good deal, and a fun ride with a full bus of locals. Nilay fortunately remains in good shape already and we arrive in Cabanaconde early afternoon in good spirits. Thierry manages to find a driver on the spot who makes us an offer to take us to Ollantaytambo for EUR200. With all that sorted we are ready to take on our trek. On our way to Cabanaconde we stop at the Condor Mirador to admire these majestic birds swooping over our heads, spanning on average 3m wing to wing.
Following a few rounds of “Mensch” and Vulcano, and some nice soups we head off early to bed so that we can get an early start the next morning. In the night Vyas comes to us saying he is unwell. He starts vomiting and so the night turns out rather short. If Nilay hadn’t had his stomach bug just before I would have freaked out about the altitude – at 3,200m high, altitude sickness is a real possibility and can be very dangerous for kids. But between our North Peru tour at nearly 3000m and our few nights in Arequipa at 2600m we figure this is unlikely and, luckily, with a mega dose of Saccharomyces boulardii, Vyas tucks straight into a hearty breakfast the next morning and we’re ready to head off. Given we are high up, I stuff our backpacks with layers and given the boys’ are just recovering from their bugs, I pack multiple changes of clothes. Thus our bags are, well, somewhat heavy. Add to that the kilos of fruits I bought in Arequipa and we are well over 20kg….
Our first day shouldn’t be too hard. 10.5km, mostly downhill, from Cabanaconde to Llahuar. It is a pretty walk, through impressive mountains, cactuses everywhere and with the view of the Rio Colca down below. 1200m down and without proper walking sticks is tough on the legs though and we’re happy to finally arrive in Llahuar at 2,020m altitude, about 6hours later. So many people told us about the hot springs that I overcome my germophobia (which is already somewhat challenged on this trip – I have come a looooong way! For my standards, anyway….) and take the kids there, with romantic images of us splashing between the rocks in warm water à la Iceland. Turns out they are a few concrete basins built over the Colca river. Cram packed with young backpackers and a very dubiously slippery floor. I hold out for nearly 25min before I chase everyone back to our hostel. We’re proud of the kids for having walked so well, especially the boys for keeping up following their previous rough nights.
The next day announces a somewhat longer walk, at 12km and somewhat tougher with several climbs and descents. We head off early and after the first 500m we already face our first pretty steep climb. On we go and since much of the indicated path is along a dusty dirt road with buses passing off an on, Thierry finds us some short cuts which are much more scenic, and MUCH steeper. We have a beautiful picnic overlooking the village of Belèn on a plunging hill under a giant cactus. Turns out that we don’t need any of our layers whatsoever, it is scorching hot!! The fruits are turning to compote in the heat so we quickly finish off the last bits and continue our climb. When we walk through fields and the path becomes one person narrow I start to doubt whether we really are on the right way, but in the spirit of follow the leader, we head on. At some point we see the lookout point indicated on our map, the Mirador de Sangalle at 2,730m. Only we see it from way above! No idea how we got here but we are a good 400m higher than we should be. And now the path ends with only a slippery mountain side in front of us. We scramble around a bit more but come to the conclusion that the only safe way out at this point is to get down to the path/road. Without any path to follow, we head down a bushy hill that unfortunately looks a lot more innocent than it is. It is steep, very slippery with lots of small rocks than give way under our feet (and our 20kg heavy backpacks 😖, but at least it padded my falls on several occasions) and, to make a long 2 hours short, definitely tests everyone’s nerves. At some point Vyas needs a little break and sits down. On a cactus! Poor thing, he screamed so loud! We thought he had been bitten my some high altitude dangerous insect. The marks on his popo could still be seen a few days later 😝. Honestly, we were amazed with how well the kids handled this tough descent. After the already hard previous 4 hours of steep climbing, to go through this mental and physical challenge without freaking out even once, we were proud of them. Bumped, scratched and bruised in more than one place we finally get down to San Juan de Chuccho, a beautiful walk to a little village nestled amongst idyllic green fields and orchards, a stark contrast to the arid rocks we ve seen the last 2 days of walking. The rocks also become more colourful, ranging from dark red to pink to green. We’re booked into the hostel Posada de Gloria, a cute little place with a lovely hot shower which we are most grateful for. The hostels all offer set dinners and it turns out that Gloria is a talented cook. We devour our hot minestrone style soup, followed by a delicious veggie “curry” and rice. What a day! We’re grateful we arrived safe and sound, and that we got a delicious, wholesome meal to finish it off. The kids almost fall asleep at the table, and, let’s be honest, Thierry and I also just fall over into bed, sore as ever.
Day 3, our final walk back to Cabanaconde. Not too long, only 6km, but all of it practically straight up from the river all the back up to Cabanaconde at 3200m. We heard that we should leave early because the sun will be particularly hot on this part, reflecting off the mountains. We leave by 6h30, thinking we will take our time given how tired we are from our previous two days. Fredy, our driver to Ollantaytambo is scheduled to meet us at 3pm at the top, so plenty of time. The kids show absolutely zero sign of fatigue and practically race up the mountain! This despite the path being made up of mostly giant rocks that we have to heave ourselves up on, like a mega step workout. Thierry and I scramble up after them, and even after forcing several water and snack stops on them, we already get to the top at 11.30. This walk is the most beautiful one of the three days, with plunging views on the valley dropping down steeply along the path, amazing colours all around with the rising sun casting shadows with the clouds. Tired and pleased with our three days we collapse down by the (very odd) Museo de Juanito, and wait for Fredy to come fetch us.
So was Colca up to our expectations? No question, the walks were superb, somewhat tougher than expected and we are super happy we did them, that everyone was in good form and that we got to thus enjoy the beautiful scenery. We climbed over 2,560m and descended 2,330m in 3 days, that’s not half bad. That said, despite the canyon being more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, the overall impression is significantly less dramatic, maybe due to the fact that the Grand Canyon has flat mountain/canyon tops whereas Colca has mountains all around which gives an overall less “airy” impression. No question, however, that this is one of the most beautiful spots in the world and worth a visit.
