Cruz del Cóndor Full-Day Tour from Arequipa, Colca Villages
From €30 per person
See availability →A Cruz del Cóndor full day tour from Arequipa: the canyon and its condors first, then colonial churches, viewpoints, vicuñas and the optional Chacapi thermal baths.
On this Cruz del Cóndor full day tour from Arequipa, the road goes first and the sights come later: after the hotel pick-up the vehicle heads through Yura straight to the canyon, with a single stop for breakfast. By the middle of the morning you are at the Cruz del Cóndor, looking down into a vast gorge, among the deepest on Earth, where the condor sanctuary lies.
The way back is slower and gathers the valley's villages. Pinchollo, Maca and Yanque each have a colonial church, and the Antahuilque and Choquetico viewpoints show the pre-Inca tombs, and the terraces of the valley. The route also brings you to people in traditional dress, camelids, trained birds and a local tipple, the Colca Sour, made from sancayo.
- Cruz del Cóndor, the canyon viewpoint
- Pinchollo, Maca and Yanque, with their colonial churches
- Chacapi thermal baths, an optional stop
- Tocrapampa wetlands, for birds, alpacas and llamas
- Pampa Cañahuas, for vicuñas inside the national reserve
Lunch in Chivay lasts an hour. On the return the vehicle stops at the volcano viewpoint, the highest point of the day at 4,910 metres above sea level. The tour lasts about 15 hours, with transport, a bilingual English and Spanish guide and breakfast included. The Colca entrance ticket, lunch and the hot spring are paid separately. The tour is not suitable for children under 6, pregnant women, people over 95, or anyone with altitude sickness or an existing medical condition.