Colca Canyon Trekking, Peru

Colca Canyon Trekking slideshow

After viewing condors at Cruz del Condor, we headed to Canaconde, 20 minutes away. After lunch we hit the trail. Right outside town, a 15 minutes walk, we saw pre-Incan stepped terraces where mainly corn, barley, potatoes and beans are cultivated. Mules are used for transportation as well as for cultivating the soil, so we saw these peaceful looking animals all over the place carrying goods, people, or helping out in the fields. We passed several villages along the massive mountains, with lots of ups and downs and some flat ways, where only people and animals could go. Sometimes the road was so narrow that we had to put one foot after the other. I was amazed to see how the mules navigated this difficult terrain.

The local people still maintain ancestral traditions, so we saw women dressed traditionally, with embroiled dresses and flowery hats. The great majority had a large piece of colorful cloth wrapped around their neck in a backpack of sorts where they carried children, potatoes, clothes, sometimes animals and anything else they needed to transport. This was a common sight in Bolivia as well among the campesinas.

The altitude at Cabanaconde is 11,483 feet and during the first day we descended to San Juan de Chuccho at 7,218 feet. It was only a three-hour walk but by the time we got to the hospedaje, Marc, Rachel and myself were beat out. We ordered a liter of beer each, ate our dinner of vegetable soup and mixed vegetables with rice and hit the bed. The next morning we slept in until 7am, had a breakfast of coca tea, bread with butter and jam, potato fritters. We were ready to head out to the swimming pool at the “Oasis” at the pueblo of Sangale by 7:30am. We had been seeing the Oasis from up the mountain from most of the way the previous day, so we had great expectations of getting there.

On our way from San Juan de Chuccho to Sangale, we passed through the villages we saw as little dots from the distance, when we started from the top of the mountain on our first day. Tapay, Cosnirhua and Malata are pueblos of about 20 people each and besides living of agriculture and tourism, they produce great tasting honey. This side of the mountain was also greener than the Cabanaconde side. We walked through canals that captured the water coming down from melted snow on the top of the mountain. I was amazed to see the abundance of water in this dry month, and how lush the area is.

We saw a lot of agave, the plant used to make tequila in Mexico. The national drink here in Peru is pisco, made from grapes. Luis, our guide, also showed us cochineal, a traditional red dye. This precious dyestuff is obtained not from a plant, but from an insect whose life mission is to suck on a cactus. Luis picked a few of these bugs from a cactus plant and squeezed one on his hand, turning it into a rich red color. Apparently, this dye is exported to several countries.

We got to the Oasis around 11am and although it was only a 3:30 hours walk we were exhausted when we hit the pool. It felt really good to stretch the calf muscles in the water, sunbathe and rest all day. The following day we would need a whole different set of muscles going up the hill. Good thing we have so muscles to use. The calf ones surely needed a rest.

The next day we got up at 5am and climbed almost a mile up the hill (4,593 feet - from 6,890 feet back to 11,483 feet.) It was a heart throbbing three-hour hike back up to Cabanaconde and I must admit that during the last 10 minutes I accepted an offer to hop on a mule. If I had to walk, it would have taken me 30 to 45 minutes. Even taking the mule ride,I was so tired afterward that I could hardly breath. The thinner air in Cabanconde did not help.

By 9:30 am we were finished with breakfast and headed to Chivay for La Calera hot springs, lunch, and back to Arequipa. On the way, we viewed volcanoes Ampato and Chucura, 20,630 feet and 17,580 feet consecutively,among others. We also saw alpacas grazing on the fields and more stepped terraces, beautiful ones. By the way, alpaca meat is a lot tender than llama, and the Peruvian folks only eat alpaca, while the Bolivians eat llamas. I liked the taste of alpaca much more than llama.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but could not partake in the festivities of August 15th in town. Today is the birthday of Arequipa, and although I saw the festivities on television, I could not get out of bed after a long hot shower. Bedtime was at 9pm.

But the following day I met up with Paul for lunch. He took me to a very nice traditional restaurant where I had rocoto relleno - stuffed hot peppers with alpaca meat in a nice stew of onion, potatoes and raisins, accompanied by grilled potatoes with cheese. Was that yummy! Then one last look at the city's view from the mirador, a walk around the neighborhoods and off to Cuzco.