COLCA CANYON TOUR: CULTURE AND NATURE 3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS 

OVERVIEW

This special tour leave on semiprivate Service, maximum 6 customers on the group.
To confirm a departure we need minimum 2 people.
If on the day of the tour we have only 2 customers, we don´t cancel the trip and you don´t pay extra for.  And Normally there are not more customers but sure we hope to have more customers ( maximum 6 )
 This tour is a great combination between: Flora, fauna and culture.
On the first day, we spend the night in a really home stay in Colca valley.  In a typical village with people that speak Quechua and Spanish.
We will enjoin the nature with a box lunch in the Colca river and with an  amazing trek in Canocota canyon.  And we will visited the National park aguada blanca and Salinas , not visited by the classic travel agencies.
On the second day we will discover the really Andes life, we will with guide and the family participate in a vivencial tour with local activities.
The third day we will discover the Colca canyon , with amazing viewpoints like the condor cross and the best viewpoint of Colca canyon : The Achachihua view point not visited by the classic travel agencies. The the national park of aguada Blanca and salinas
The first day, we take the long way to Colca valley, is interesting because we cross an altitude of 4200 mhsl and if you take the normal route we cross an altitude of 4912mhsl. Like that in our tour we take the route with less altitude.
All is included in the tour, also depend on your physical shape you can do from one to 2 hours trek each day. One day before the tour the guide meet you at your hotel and he or she will explain all the options treks with a map. These treks are not so difficult.
Example if there are 3 couple in the tour, and one couple don´t like to trek: 
The couple that don´t like to trek can continue with the driver and meet at the ends of the treks the other couple.
During the wait ,this couple can take pictures and appreciate the nature with the help of the driver. But the 99.5% of our customer’s make these treks .
Remember in the classical tour to the Colca offered by other travel companies, you will be the 99% of the time inside the bus with 25 or 30 tourists with only one guide,  on these classic tours are not included meals and entrances. With Pablo tour all is included, with Pablo tour you walk and also you visit  the viewpoints and villages not visited by the classic travel companies (on the way we avoid the tourists) .
We have the best licensed English speaking guides. And remember we included all in our program.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: Easy, but you have to like walking; the walks are optional.

DURATION: 3 days

TRIP SUMMARY AND TREKKING TIME PER DAY

Day 1 : 

-5:00 AM, pick-up from your hotel

-Visit to the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve

-Visit to the Mollepunku paintings cave

-Visit to the Colca Window (geological formation)

-Visit of the enchanted Callalli Castles (geological formation)

-Typical lunch in the town of Sibayo

-Hike through the Canocota Canyon

-Visit to the La Calera hot springs in Chivay

-Overnight stay in a local family's home in the town of Coporaque or, if you prefer, at the Colca Lodge (extra cost)

-Dinner with a local family if staying in their home

Day 2 : 

- Typical activity with a local family.

- Walking tour of the Inca archaeological site of Uyu-Uyo.

- Tour of the left side of the Colca Valley, including viewpoints and traditional villages.

- First visit to the Cruz del Condor viewpoint in the afternoon, without tourists.

- One-hour hike to experience the sunset over the Andes, from the Tapay viewpoint (3700m) to Cabanaconde (3287m).

- Overnight stay in a hotel in Cabanaconde with private rooms, heating, and private bathrooms with hot water.

Day 3 : 

- 5:00 AM, start of the Andean Sunrise Hike, 3300m, flat, one-hour round trip hike.

-Visit to the great Achachihua viewpoint. This viewpoint is better than Cruz del Condor. Here we can better appreciate the Colca Canyon. From here we can enjoy the sunrise.

- Visit to Cruz del Condor for second time.

- One-hour hike along the canyon rim, 3700m, flat with a short uphill section.

- Visit to the Colca Valley and its viewpoints until arriving in Chivay.

- Peruvian buffet lunch at an Andean buffet restaurant.

Then we continue to the city of Arequipa, or if you prefer, you can take a connecting bus to the city of Puno departing at 1:00 PM. (Additional cost)

Arrival in Arequipa at 5:00 PM

Arrival in Puno at 7:30 PM

TEMPERATURE AND WEATHER

Between May and November, mornings and afternoons are sunny, with daytime temperatures ranging from 15 to 23 degrees Celsius and nighttime temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius.

Between December and April, it rains in the afternoons, with partly sunny mornings, daytime temperatures ranging from 13 to 23 degrees Celsius, and nighttime temperatures around 9 degrees Celsius.

HIGHLIGHTS

Condor Sightings - We can usually appreciate the condor's flight in the morning at the Condor's Cross.

Aguada Blanca and Salinas National Reserve - Visited on the last day; birds, South American camelids, volcano viewpoint.

La Calera Hot Spring Pools with temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius that contain minerals that help against muscle contractions and are very good for stress; we bathed in the pools after the trek on the first day.

Peruvian Buffet Lunch: On the last day, you will enjoy Peruvian cuisine at a restaurant in the town of Chivay, featuring a variety of traditional dishes.

Viewpoints overlooking the Colca Valley and local people this part of the canyon is special because we saw locals along the way. We visited the valley in the afternoon, when there were no tourists or tourist transport. This made the visit truly special.

Trek in the Canocota Canyon this canyon is not visited by typical tours; there are no tourists. During the trek, you can appreciate different varieties of cacti and volcanic rock formations.

Mollepunku paintings Caves that are evidence of how Andean man transitioned from a nomadic to a transhumant lifestyle. 6000 BC.

The geological formation of the Enchanted Castles of Callalli is practically a forest of volcanic stones with whimsical shapes sculpted by the natural erosion of rain and wind. The most striking formations are those shaped like castles.

Pure nature without tourists: there are several points on this tour where we'll be surrounded by mountains and springs, with pure water naturally irrigating the wetlands, creating microclimates at high altitudes. That's what our trip is all about: appreciating nature in its purest form. It's a gift that only a few can enjoy. (Welcome to the world of Pablo Tour).

Sunrise Trek and the Achachihua Viewpoint: The best viewpoint to appreciate the Colca Canyon. We begin this trek at 5 am to enjoy the sunrise. This takes place on the third day of the program.

Sunset Trek, on the second day of the program we start the trek from 3700m to 3287m, at the end of the trek we will be able to appreciate the sunset in the Andes.

Homestay we will spend the first night in the home stay

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

Tours in small groups, with a maximum of 6 people. If we only have 2 clients on the day of the tour, we don't cancel the tour or ask for more money.

Pablo Tour Guides: Only the Pablo Tour team`s guides can lead our groups. Our are continuously trained and officially certified.

We are a tour operator; we don't send our clients to other travel agencies. This guarantees our quality and safety.

We have a physical office in Arequipa`downtown , You can visit us with any questions.

Tour information 1-2 days before the tour, we provide more information at our office. We are located in the city center.

All-inclusive: no hidden costs.

Private rooms, you'll only share with the person you know.

Better food, you'll always feel your food is better than other groups'.

We are Pablo Tour, with top service ratings and recommended in all the travel books worldwide.

We spent the second night in Cabanaconde village, this is very important because Cabanaconde is very close to the Cruz del Condor and only a 30-minute walk from the great Achachihua viewpoint.

Environmental Care: We are aware of the impact of each visit, and our team uses special bags for collecting plastic bottles.

Our guides do not use plastic bottles, and we recommend the same to our clients.

On our tours, we provide purified water in cardboard boxes for our team and clients, thus avoiding the use of plastic bottles during the tour.

We have tree-planting campaigns.

PABLO TOUR is a certified agency in Ecology and Environmental Care

ADVANTAGES OF OUR TOUR:

- The first night is spent in the home of local residents, but if you prefer to sleep elsewhere, that's no problem; just let us know which hotel. Sometimes they choose the Colca Lodge, but of course, you can book directly.

- On the first day, we depart at 5:00 AM, three hours before the main tour groups, thus avoiding the large crowds of tourists.

- We visit the Mollepunku rock paintings, dating from 3000 to 6000 BC.

- We hike in the Canocota Canyon without the crowds of tourists.

- The first night is spent in the village of Coporaque, staying in the home of local residents.

- The second night is spent in the village of Cabanaconde, which is only 15 minutes from the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint.

- Cabanaconde is the lowest-lying village in the Colca Valley. It has the same altitude as the city of Cusco, 3280 meters above sea level.

- We visit the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint twice, increasing the chances of seeing the condor in flight.

- We visit both the left and right sides of the Colca Valley.

- We visit the Achachihua viewpoint (better than the Cruz del Cóndor) to appreciate the Colca Canyon without the crowds.

- We organize a typical lunch combined with experiences with a local family.

-Every day we do two treks, each lasting 1-2-3 hours. The treks are optional.

- We avoid the large crowds of tourists.

- On our tour, we visit both the Colca Valley and the Colca Canyon. Classic tours only visit the Colca Valley.

- Our groups are small, with a maximum of 6 clients.

- If there are only 2 people on the day of the tour, we do not cancel it. - Information before the tour is available at our office in Arequipa.

-Everything is included in the tour; there are no hidden fees.

-If you take the connecting trip to Puno on the third day of the tour, we have ample space on the transport for your luggage.

-We love nature, and our guides are equally passionate about their work. We only work with certified guides from Pablo Tours.

-24/7 assistance is available.

- We spend the second night in an eco-friendly hotel with two windows, a private bathroom, hot water, and heating upon request. The rooms with two windows are among the warmest in the area. The windows face east and west, allowing the sun to warm the rooms in the mornings and afternoons. The wooden floor also helps retain heat in the room.

ITINERARY:

Day 1 : AREQUIPA- NATIONAL RESERVE- CANOCOTA CANYON - COPORAQUE

Approximately at 5 a.m. we pick up the passenger at their hotel, and then we leave to the Colca Valley. We leave before the classic tours and travel agencies. 
Approximately after a two hours' trip, we will find the main route that goes to the Colca Valley. In this sector, that is named "Pampas Cañahuas" we will be able to watch the "vicuñas" which are non-domesticated camelids that live freely onto the "Aguada Blanca y Salinas" National Reservation.  
In this part of our trip, it is possible to use the rest rooms placed in "Chasqui Pampa".  
After this, we will go to the "Bofedales of Tocjra Pampa" where we will be able to watch different kinds of birds like black ibis, andean duck, "guayatas", "the pajaro bobo", Andean gulls, etc.   Near this place we will be able to find herds of "llamas" and "alpacas".  

Then with the transport we take the route called long way to Canocota then Chivay –Coporaque.  Take this long way to colca valley is interesting because we cross an altitude of 4200 mhsl and if you take the normal route we cross an altitude of 4912mhsl. Like that in our tour we take the route with less altitude.
On the way we will visit the painting cave of Mollepunku Here you can find paints of lamas , Alpacas, Huanacos and the first domestications of vicuñas and Huanacos.
This painting cave is not visited by the classic tours or classic tour operators in Arequipa-Colca, Here you will not find any tourist, this painting cave is well Preserved and try to represent the domestication of south American Camelids: vicuñas, Lamas, Alpacas,huanacos  and the andean peruvian people.

imagine see  this painting cave ¡  Imagine what people said at this time , their frustration, joy, needs……
This Art propably date about 10 000 years old.
Before arrive to Callalli village we will stop for take a picture of a rock formation , the famous : Colca window ( Ventana del Colca)
Then we will apreciate and take pictures of the Huge walls as known as  Castillos encantados of Callalli
The altitude of callalli village and of the Castillos encantados is 4000mhsl 
Then we continue to the right bank of the Colca River, before cross the river, we will take our box lunch in the middle of the nature. Near to the river.
Then we will visit the stone village of Sibayo 3820 mhsl
Sibayo village is interesting because is one of the few village in Colca Canyon where we can find typical houses, typical peruvians andes streets.
Then we drive to canocota village, from here we start our 3 hours trek to Chivay village from 4000mhsl to 3600mhsl. 
We will trek into the small canyon of Canocota; on this trek you can take very good pictures of the Andes and local flora and volcanoes. On this trek you don´t find any tourist. 
This trek is the preferred trek of our customers
At the end of the trek we will enjoy the hot spring of 38-40 grados centigrados.
Then we drive to Coporaque village 3575mhsl (right side of Colca valley), here we will take the dinner with a local family and we will spend the night in a family home stay.

Meals included: Lunch and dinner

Accomodation: Home stay, private room or with Colca lodge (not included)

Trekking time:  2-3 hours

Accomodation night altitude: 3570 meters (high) Above sea level

Difficulty: It's easy, but you have to like walking.

Area: Canyon and valley

Day 2:  COLCA VALLEY - CRUZ DEL CONDOR - CABANACONDE

Today you will decide at what time take the Breakfast
Then you will make 3-4 hours of vivencial tour in Colca valley with the local family.(trek and visit) Then we will lunch with the local family. 
After lunch we will visit the archeological INCA remain of Uyo Uyo.
The  by transport we visit the left side on the colca valley :  yanque, maca village , the condor cross. Here we can wait the condors if you have luck you can see condors when they back at their nest. 
(The next day we will visit the condor cross for second time)
On the way you will stop anywhere, to visit all the viewpoints, pre-inca terracies, for hanging pre Inca tombs, sacred pre inca stones and others.

Spend the night in Cabanaconde village in a hotel , private bathroom, hot swower , rooms with 2 windows  

Important: 
We do the visit of the classic Colca Valley in the afternoon ´cause in the morning there are hundreds of tourists. We sleep in the village of Cabanaconde and not in Chivay, because in Cabanaconde there are also good hotels and home stay , and the village is more typical (fewer tourists) We visit two times  the Condor cross.

The first time is in the afternoon of the second day of our trip, where, frequently, some condors could be seen.

The second time is in the morning of the third day, the distance from Cabanaconde to " Condor`s cross" is reached in just 15 minutes. 

Before arrive to Cabanaconde we will make one hour trek, from Tapay view point 3700m to Cabanaconde 3300m in the midle of the pre inca terracies and you can appreciate the andean sunset.

We arrive to Cabanaconde 5 pm.

Meals included: Breakfast ,lunch and dinner

Accomodation: Eco small hotel, private room, hot water , heating

Trekking time:  2-3 hours

Accomodation night altitude: 3287 meters (high) Above sea level

Difficulty: It's easy, but you have to like walking.

Area: Canyon and valley

Day 3: ACHACHIHUA VIEWPOINT - CRUZ DEL CONDOR - CHIVAY - AREQUIPA OR PUNO

At 5:30 am, we walk 30 min. And we arrive to the best view point of Colca canyon (Achachihua view point) Here there are not tourists.

From here, you can see: the Oasis inside the canyon and also the Huaruro Waterfall (the right bank of the Colca Canyon) , the treasure of the pre-Inca trails. 
Then we come back to the hotel to take the breakfast, then we drive 15 to condor cross.
We arrive to condor cross 7:30 am,  here we stay enough time trying to see the condor` flight. 
Then, trek from condor cross to another viewpoint, on the trek we reach the canyon (flat ) On this trek we find natural view points for colca canyon.

With the transport  we continue to Chivay
Lunch.

After lunch we continue to Arequipa and on the way we visit the national park.
We will visit the view point of the Andes at 4850 mhsl here; we will have an outstanding view of the different volcanoes (also called "the volcanic belt of Southern Peru) and a partial view of the Center Andes Mountain Chain. The name is Patapampa or Mirador de los Andes.

Then we back to Arequipa city ; we arrive at 5 pm .

Meals included: Breakfast and lunch

Trekking time:  2 hours

Difficulty: It's easy, but you have to like walking.

Area: Canyon and valley

IMPORTANT : We adapt the hikes according to your physical condition.
The treks are not difficult, however, if you find it difficult, you can take the transport to the final part of the trek. On the way, the driver can show you the best places to take photos.
 
These tours leave From Arequipa To Arequipa. 

If you want to save time and instead of continuing to the city of Arequipa, you can take a connection to the city of Puno.

TOURIST BUS COLCA TO PUNO

Departs at 1:15 PM from Chivay
Arrives in the city of Puno around 7:30 PM

The tourist bus to Puno makes stops for restrooms and visits the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Park. A guide is included.

During the tour, you will visit:

1. The Patapampa viewpoint (4,912 meters above sea level) to admire the Andes Mountains and volcanoes;

2. Pampas Cañahuas to observe llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, and also to use the restroom;

3. Lagunillas to observe birds and flamingos.

We can arrange this for you.

If I take the connecting bus to Puno, will I miss any of the stops on the tour?

No, because this tour also includes a visit to the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve.
The tour includes:
- Patapampa (Andes viewpoint) 4912 meters above sea level
- Tojra Pampa for birdwatching
- Stops to see and photograph llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas
- Lagunillas to appreciate the beauty of a lake in the heart of the Andes.

Is there enough space for my luggage?
Yes, there is enough space on both modes of transport.

How much does the connection to Puno cost?
195.00 Soles per person

COLCA CANYON TOUR 3 DAYS  2 NIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Official English speaking guide
• Private tourist transport (heating and ventilation)
• Experienced driver
• 1 night in a home stay
• 1 Night hotel in Cabanaconde village (3287m)
• 2-3 hours treks every day: optional
• Visit of the right and left side of Colca valley
• Meals:
• Day 1 * lunch/*dinner with the local family
• Day 2 *breakfast /* lunch /*dinner
• Day 3 * breakfast /* andean buffet lunch
• Oxygen and first aid kit for all participants and our staff
• Food and accommodation for our driver and guide
• Pre trip information one day before in your hotel or in our Office
• Assistance 24 hours of our travel agency Pablo Tour
• Entrance fee to the National Park - Colca Canyon
• Ticket for hot spring

  COLCA CANYON TOUR 3 DAYS  2 NIGHTS NOT INCLUDED

• Drinks
• Tips for the guide and driver

 COLCA CANYON TOUR 3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS PRICE:

Difficulty Colca Canyon tour 3 days 2 nights culture & nature

Colca Canyon Tour 3 Day Map