A private bus will pick you up from your hotel around 07:30 am. We will take the road to Yura, heading towards beautiful Colca Valley. You will travel along this road, which is half asphalted and half unfinished sand, for 4 hours towards your first night’s destination. The 4-hour-trip is not direct and leads us through some of the local area’s most important places! The first stop will be at the National Reserve of Agua Blanca and Salinas, a place where you can observe the famous vicuñas and the great volcanoes of Arequipa.
Before approaching to the National Reserve of “Pampa Cañahuas”, we will make a short stop to observe the wild Vicuñas (one of the 4 types of American camels) in their natural habitat. At this point we will be at about 3400 m.a.s.l. Moving on, we will arrive to the “Pata Wasi” (Pata=high, Wasi=home), an Andean community at the opposite border of the reserve.
We will then continue our journey unto our third stop, the restaurant El Chino. Here, you can appreciate the ”stone wood” formations, use the bathrooms and enjoy a coca tea which is very good for your stomach and the altitude.

From here, we will pass “Tocra”, a high plain at 4500 meters, where we will observe migrant birds at stunning lakes and get pictures of the “Antiplano” with its Llamas and Guanacos. The highest point of our tour will be “Pata Pampa” at 4820 meters, from where we can observe the volcanoes Ampato, Sabancaya, Hualca-Hualca, Misti (the source of the Amazon River) and the “Cordillera Chila”. Getting close to the town of Chivay, we will enjoy some spectacular views of the multicolored terraces of the Colca Valley.

After lunch, you will have some free time to visit the market of Chivay before we drive you to your hotel. In the afternoon you will visit the hot springs where you can take a bath in one of the pools with water temperatures from 35 to 40°C and 80°C in the source. Enjoy the warm natural water and the nice outdoor pools, surrounded by the huge mountains and then after sunset, return to the hotel where you can order your dinner. (In case you want to stay at the Colca Lodge Hotel after lunch and enjoy its hot pool, please coordinate a pick-up-time for the second day of the tour with your guide!)

Accommodation: Hotel Mamayacchi

We will have our breakfast very early in the morning and then leave to the famous “Cruz del Condor” lookout point. Upon arrival, you will have enough time to enjoy the breathtaking view of the deep Canyon and if the weather permits to observe the majestic flight of the Condors.
After a coordinated time, our guide will take you for a short walk near the Canyon (aprox. 1 hour). On our way back to Chivay, we’re going to visit the traditional village Pinchollo and the “Antahuilque viewpoint” from where we can observe the wonderful 1500 year-old terraces which were once constructed by the Collaguas, a culture well before the Incas’ time. We will also make a stop at the look-out point “Choquetico” with its hanging tombs “Tumbas colgantes“ and take a look at the litomaqueta, a model of the canyon terraces carved in a rock. We will continue our journey by visiting Maca, an Andean community that experienced an earthquake in November 1991, and the village Yanque with the most beautiful church in the valley.

Afterwards, we arrive in Chivay to have lunch and to explore the town. You will have some time to relax in your hotel before you have the rest of the day free for personal activities such as hiking, horse riding or biking (not included in the package, but we can organize it for you if you would like).

Accommodation: Hotel Mamayacchi

After an early breakfast at your hotel, a Coporaque villager will take you to visit his home and together you will plan the work that has to be done this morning. We can not exactly define what this day will look like, as it depends on the season and day of the week. However, the normal activities are -amongst others- to support in the fields, to herd animals, to prepare the land for sowing or to harvest.
Around mid-day, your host will accompany you on your way back to your hotel to pick up your luggage and then continue your way towards Chivay.

We will stop for Lunch in Chivay before hitting the road in direction of Puno, crossing through amazing sceneries of the Altiplano and leaving behind the gorgeous scenery of the Colca Canyon. On our way, we continue ascending a small road until we reach the highest point of our trip, the lookout point of the Andes (4800 m/15,748 ft). At the very top, we will get off of the bus for a few minutes and enjoy the stunning landscape with the great volcanoes including Mismi, Misti, Chachani, Sabancaya (active) and Ampato.
Along the paved road, we will see many small towns as well as the beautiful lagoon Lagunillas, where we can explore trout farms and observe Andean flamingos among many Andean birds. Following an ascending road we will then reach the Viscachani. We have a short break and stretch our legs, use the bathroom if needed and drink a typical coca tea or coffee at the local restaurant.
Later on, we will drive through the national reserve park of the Peruvian Altiplano to finally reach the beautiful city of Puno close to the majestic Titicaca Lake.