2-Day Colca Canyon Trek from Arequipa to Sangalle Oasis

The 2-day Colca Canyon trek from Arequipa is for walkers who want to be inside the canyon, not only on its rim. A guide in English and Spanish picks you up very early at your hotel, and a tourist bus takes you to the canyon with a stop for breakfast on the way.

First stop is Cruz del Condor, to look over the canyon and watch for the Andean condor. The bus then drops you where the trail begins. You descend for about three hours to the San Juan Valley, beside the Colca River, have lunch, and walk three more hours through the canyon to the Sangalle Oasis, where a pool, a bed and dinner await.

Day two opens with a hard but rewarding three-hour climb out to Cabanaconde, where breakfast is followed by the bus back to Arequipa. Stops on the return include:

• The Antahuilque viewpoint, with its pre-Inca terraces above the valley
• The Chacapi hot springs, to rest tired legs
• Chivay, for the last lunch
• The volcano viewpoint, where the tour reaches its highest point
• The salt flats and the Aguada Blanca Reserve, with llamas, alpacas and vicuñas

The trip ends two blocks from Arequipa's main square. Included are two breakfasts, one lunch, one dinner and the Sangalle accommodation; the last lunch and the entrance tickets are not. It is not suitable for children under 15 or people with heart problems, vertigo, altitude sickness or a low level of fitness.