The Colca Canyon is located in Peru, South America, and is one of the world’s deepest canyons – and is absolutely stunning! The canyon is nestled in Peru’s Andean mountains, and to visit you can take a day trip, multi-day trip, and even trek the canyon, depending on how much time you have and the difficulty level you want. We chose the Colca Canyon 2 day tour, and thought it was the perfect amount of time for visiting this amazing place.
Visiting the Colca Canyon is a great way to get out of the cities and see a different side of Peru.
Options for Visiting Peru’s Colca Canyon
If you’re hoping to visit the Colca Canyon, you can choose to do one of the following:
- One day tour
- Two day tour
- Two day trek
- Three day trek
The difference between the tours and the treks is the trek involves more hiking, goes deeper into the canyon, and I believe you camp down in the canyon, whereas the tour is more stopping at different sites and traveling via bus.
The two day Colca Canyon trek seemed to be the same as the three day trek, however, the 3 day trek was at a slower pace and spread out over an extra day.
The one day tour (to me) seemed quite rushed compared to the 2 day tour. If you only have 1 day though, I think it’s still worth it for an adventure-packed day in the Colca Canyon!
As mentioned above, I went with the 2 day Colca Canyon tour.
Colca Canyon 2 Day Tour
You can book your Colca Canyon tour in the city of Arequipa, Peru. This is where most (if not all) Colca Canyon tours and treks leave from. Feel free to shop around and visit different tour companies, but we went with Colonial Tours and would recommend their tour! Our tour guide, Raul, was amazing.
We booked our tour in town at the tour office 2 days before setting on the tour itself.
Day One of Our Tour
On the first day of our tour, we were picked up by the tour company from our hostel and headed out for our Colca Canyon adventure! The first day consisted of a bunch of different spots all around the Colca Valley, a delicious lunch, and a stop at the hot springs.
Stops we made on day one:
- A ton of viewpoints!
- Stops to see wild vicuna
- A visit to an alpaca heard
- A viewpoint with a bunch of mountains, a volcano (in the distance) and a cafe/little shop
- Lunch (not included in the tour price – was 30 soles for a delicious buffet, plus drinks)
- Hot springs (15 soles to enter)
- Dinner in Chivay
Our dinner was such an amazing experience, we sat at a huge table in a traditional restaurant that had people dancing around and an amazing atmosphere. If you feel like joining in the dancing they really encourage visitors to join! It was so much fun and a great way to end our first night.
Day Two of Our Tour
Stops we made on day two:
- A few small villages
- Flight of the Condor
- Another local village & lunch
- Arequipa
We had an early wake-up call for the second day of our tour, as we had to head out to the Flight of the Condor. The Flight of the Condor is a viewpoint that overlooks the Colca Canyon where a ton of Andean condors fly through the valley, and it is such a stunning site to see.
We stopped at a few small villages in the Colca Valley along the way before actually arriving, and by the time we got there it was quite a busy spot (a lot of tour buses!), but it was still so amazing.
There are a few paths you can walk along to try and get different views over the canyon, which can help you to escape some of the crowds. At one point we saw 7 condors all flying in the same area!
We spent around an hour at the viewpoint. Eventually, the condors dissipate when it starts to get warmer outside.
After leaving the viewpoint, we headed to another local village, and then went for lunch at a different restaurant than day one, but was still buffet style for 30 soles.
After lunch, we headed back to Arequipa!
Our 2 Day Tour Details
In case you’re interested in the exact details of our 2 day Colca Canyon tour:
- We booked through Colonial Tours in Arequipa
- Booked in person at their office 2 days prior. If you’re traveling via Peru Hop, you can book the tour on the bus into Arequipa (just make sure you have enough cash on hand).
- Our tour cost 100 soles to book, and an additional 70 soles while on the tour for National Park fees
- Lunches, dinner, and snacks were an extra cost as well (30 soles each day for lunch, per person)
- We visited in May 2018
- Our hostel in Arequipa let us leave our big bags there overnight while we were on our tour. We packed a smaller bag to bring only what we needed with us on the 2 day tour.
If you’re worried about extra costs, be sure to ask your tour operator for costs that aren’t included before booking.
Colca Canyon Tips:
- Bring layers – especially if visiting in May or during the colder season. It gets chilly at night and even during the day.
- Bring coca candies – Our guide stopped at a shop on the way out of Arequipa that sold coca candies so we could pick some up for the 2 day tour. The Colca Canyon is at quite a high elevation, and so to avoid altitude sickness the locals recommend eating coca candy.
- Drink a ton of water – another way to avoid altitude sickness!
- Wear sunscreen – Even though it can get chilly, the sun is still quite harsh.
- Bring your camera! The Colca Canyon is beautiful and you need your camera.
Hopefully this helps you plan your trip to the Colca Canyon, or inspires you to visit Peru!
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Read more on Peru:
- 15 Things to do in Peru: Your Bucket List!
- How to Get to Machu Picchu (6 Different Ways)
- PeruHop Bus Review: How we got Around Peru
- Your 3 Week Peru Itinerary
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Hey! I’m Kat. Based in Alberta, Canada I love to travel to the Rockies and explore new places around the world. Follow along on my adventures and find inspiration and tips for your own travels.
