Colca Canyon: Majestic Condors & Breathtaking Andean Journey

Colca valley and canyon are stunning. We loved seeing the Condors so close and we enjoyed the hot springs. BUT the 3 hour journey there and 3 hours back were the most uncomfortable I have had on any excursion - there simply is not enough leg room for anyone over about 172 cm. My knees were rammed up hard against the seat in front, so think hard about booking this if you are over 172 cm. Plus we were dropped at one spot and told to be back at 9.30 (an hour after drop off) but it was nearly 10am by the time the minibus arrived, so we had stood around doing nothing for 30 minutes simply waiting.

It was an amazing experience in the Colca canyon, we departed early in the morning around 3:30 am, the team arrived on time to our aribnb. The breakfast was good and the lunch was cheap considering we ate a lot. The altitude sickness could hit you very bad so it would be better to bring some medicine because it is hard to find it near the Canyon. I would recommend the experience!

The views were amazing and our guide Ghersy was brilliant. Beware biting insects & double cost for mules for larger people.

Trip was kinda lame. Don’t actually go to the 4000 m deep canyon just a small section to see condors at about 1000m depth. Included “breakfast” was a single scrambled egg with a piece of toast and that has to tide you over until lunch, bring snacks. It was a lot of riding around in a sprinter van to get out for 20 minutes to view some alpaca, stop at a market to buy the same stuff as everywhere else and spend about an hour at a hot springs. Not my favorite trip, our guide was good but would not recommend this operator. Additional costs included, park access, lunch, hot springs access, towel rental, snacks and drinks.

This tour was an incredible experience. We were lucky to have a guide who was extremely knowledgeable about the area and he showed us all the best sights. The views of the canyon were breathtaking, one thing is to see the canyon in pictures (which also looks amazing) but a total different experience is to see it in real life, can't describe it good enough.

We recently had the pleasure of taking this day trip to Colca and it was an absolute delight. Our guide, Isabel, was friendly and knowledgeable, and she made sure that we had plenty of time to take in the stunning views of the canyon. The stop in Chivay was a great opportunity to learn about local culture and have a nice breakfast. The highlight of the tour for me was definitely seeing the wild vicunas next to the road.

The full day tour to the Colca Canyon was definitely the highlight of my trip to Peru. Our guide, David, was fantastic, he shared so much interesting information about the canyon and its inhabitants. The town of Chivay was charming and Yanque was a great place to stop for lunch. The views of the canyon were simply stunning and I will never forget seeing the condors at the Condor Cross.

I recently went on the full day tour to the Colca Canyon with Trek the Colca and it was an unforgettable experience. The views of the canyon were absolutely breathtaking and our guide, Isabel, was incredibly knowledgeable about the history and culture of the area. The highlight of the tour for me was definitely the Condor Cross, where we were lucky enough to see several condors flying overhead. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Arequipa!

We would have enjoyed walking a bit more along the canyon, maybe away from the huge crowds. There was a lot of time spent being driven around and stopping in loads of different places, and some of these stops could probably have been skipped and the time traded for more walking. We enjoyed the hot springs though.

Some of the views were fantastic and the guide was interesting and helpful .... but a lot of time driving and in a cramped van. Also stopping for (charged) lunch and hot springs gave the feeling was too pad the day out (the springs) and generate business for the establishments (hot springs and lunch) rather than stopping somewhere and letting you choose your own lunch. My feeling probably not helped by the fact that the trip cost £50 excluding an almost non oprional buffet lunch but the hostel im staying at did the same trip with lunch included for $20!