BEST WAY TO TOUR COLCA CANYON FROM AREQUIPA

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BEST WAY TO TOUR COLCA CANYON FROM AREQUIPA
Many people wonder what is the best way to tour
Colca Canyon from Arequipa without wasting time
and making the most of their visit to this
region. After all, it is not Perus easiest to
reach region and definitely not its most
popular, so we will help you make the most of
your stay here with the following
article. First of all, the main starting point
for any Colca Canyon tour is of course the city
of Arequipa. You can get to this city by bus or
plane from any other major city in Peru. Once in
Arequipa, you can stay in any of the several
good quality hotels in town. There is no
shortage of tour agencies offering one or two-day
Colca Canyon tours from Arequipa. Most budget
travelers take the one-day trip that leaves very
early (around 4 AM) from their hotel and visits
the main sights of the Colca Canyon region such
as Chivay, Yanque (hot springs) and of course
the Mirador de la Cruz del Condor where you can
see flying condors soaring the surroundings. We
do not recommend the day trip because it is very
exhausting and while it does let you see the
main highlights of this region, it is more like a
been there, done that type of experience, but if
you are short of time (and maybe money) this may
be the trip for you. Some people prefer not to
rush or start so early, so they opt for a 2-day
tour of the area with overnight stay in the town
of Chivay (or around nearby Yanque) in order to
break the long drive and avoiding the need of
starting so early. The two day trip allows for a
regular starting time on day 1 and more time to
enjoy the hot springs. On the second day, the
already mentioned viewpoint will be reached to
see the soaring condors and then the drive back
to Arequipa. We of course recommend the two-day
trip instead of the day trip because it does
allow to enjoy this region more without such
early times and exhausting days. For a select
group of people (most often very experienced
travelers) looking to explore the wider Colca
region in depth, there are more options that
allow them to get under the skin of the country,
interact with local people, get to know
traditional lifestyle and food. For example, they
can combine a classic Colca Canyon tour from
Arequipa but add more days to their adventure
and get to know the Valley of the Volcanoes
geothermal park which is adjacent to the Colca
Canyon but more difficult to reach. On the way,
one can appreciate beautiful Andean landscapes
and wildlife as well as volcanoes, hot springs,
valleys, massive plateaus and more. We recommend
this five-day trip that combines both the Colca
Canyon and Valley of the Volcanoes starting and
ending in Arequipa. It gives more opportunities
to do physical activity (treks), see lots of
wildlife and get to know the real Peru. In
short, the most common trips are the one and two
day tours of Colca Canyon from Arequipa which
are offered by lots of companies in town.
However, if you want to see and experience much
more than the Colca Canyon, you can also consider
a longer trip such as this combined
2
4-day Colca Canyon and Valley of the Volcanoes
tour from Arequipa. offered by this Peruvian
tour company based in Arequipa.