DESCRIPTION

Description Colca Valley and Arequipa Tour

With the Colca Valley and Arequipa Tour or “Arequipa in your hands”, you can visit the city of Arequipa in only 3 days, you will enjoy the historical part mixed with the countryside and the wonderful landscapes of the Colca Canyon, the imposing flight of the majestic Andean condor and making short stops to reach the Puno Region. This tour is ideal for those who want to know the deep Peru on wheels.

We will pass by, the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa and its bronze basin with a copper sculpture of a little elf with a trumpet, the Mirador de Carmen Alto Plaza and Mirador de Yanahuara tours, which is a set of beautiful ashlar arches built during the nineteenth century, a panoramic view of its three volcanoes Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu, the zoo, Zoo Mundo which houses 340 animals of 88 species that were recovered from traders or abandoned, the Balneario de Tingo, the Via Paisajista and the Founder’s Mansion, then we will go to the Sabandia Mill.

The Colca Valley with its wonderful landscapes and the Mirador de la Cruz del Condor, we will be able to delight ourselves with the flight of the Condor, this majestic bird in danger of extinction that inhabits the canyon. Its varied fauna will also allow the traveler to enjoy the presence of animals such as alpaca, vicuña, vizcachas, foxes, pumas, eagles, hawks and owls.

Enjoy the Colca Valley & Arequipa Tour

MAIN POINTS OF VISIT

Arequipa (2,335 masl)
Viewpoint of Yanahuara (2,343 masl)
Sabandia Mill (2,399 masl)
Chivay (3,635 masl)
Cruz del Condor viewpoint (3,800 masl)
Puno (3,827 masl)

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Arequipa – Historical Center – Cathedral – Santa Catalina Monastery – Santa Ana Church – Sabandia Mill – Arequipa

08.45 hrs We will pick you up at your hotel which is located in the circuit of the Plaza de Armas.
09.00 hrs This circuit begins with the visit city tours Arequipa we know the Cathedral Basilica (1656) of neoclassical style and with a facade decorated with 70 columns and 2 towers.
Then, the Convent of the Company of Jesus where the highlights are the polychrome Chapel of San Ignacio and its cloisters with arches carved in ashlar. Finally visit the Monastery of Santa Catalina (1580), a citadel built in ashlar with an area of 20 thousand m2.
Leaving the center of Arequipa city tours, we will go to the traditional village of Paucarpata, where we will appreciate the pre-Inca terraces currently used by farmers in the area, visit the church of Santa Ana and its main square.
We will move to the district of Sabandia, where is located the hydraulic stone mill, construction of the year 1785 (one of the oldest in this area), made with the typical white sillar, volcanic tuff made stone and that is the reason why Arequipa has the nickname of “White City”.
The mill has characteristics of solid buttresses and rustic balconies and from here you can appreciate the immense snow-capped volcanoes that surround the region of Arequipa, highlighting the figure of its tutelary volcano, the Misti (5,800 meters).
To finish the tour, we move to the Founder’s Mansion, built in the seventeenth century on the edge of a cliff and that was ordered to build by the founder city tour Arequipa, Manuel Garcia de Carbajal. It has stately features, a hallway with a vaulted ceiling and a large courtyard that ends in a classic chapel. Walking through this circuit you can appreciate the typical farms, with crops where the greenery stands out in its different ranges, typical characteristic of the Arequipa countryside.
13.15 hrs Approx. arrival to the city, we will leave you near the Plaza de Armas.

Hotel: CORREGIDOR

BREAKFAST – HOTEL / LUNCH & DINNER – PASSENGER

Day 2: Arequipa – Chivay – Baños La Calera

06.20 hrs We pick you up at your hotel in downtown Puno, heading to Chivay in the Arequipa region. Travel time approximately 6 hours making scenic stops along the route to make the trip as pleasant as possible. The city of Chivay has hotels, restaurants of different categories, it is also known for its religious celebrations, cultural heritage and traditional festivals.
We start the trip passing through small towns and seeing the volcanoes Misti tour Arequipa, Chachani, Pichu Pichu and Ampato the highest point of the route Patapampa until arriving to Chivay.
In addition, on this route nature will surround us and in the Andes we will admire in the Arequipa tourism excursion, condors, llamas and alpacas in their natural habitat, we will make brief stops at different viewpoints to observe the Andenerías and Inca terraces, until arriving in Chivay.
13.00 hrs Approx. time for lunch in a local restaurant (NOT INCLUDED).
14.00 hrs Then we will take you to your hotel to settle in, FREE TIME to relax if you wish we will take you to the thermal baths of La Calera.
Dinner at a local restaurant (NOT INCLUDED).

Hotel: COLCA INN.

BREAKFAST – HOTEL / LUNCH and DINNER – PASSENGER

Day 3: Mirador Del Condor – Puno

The COLCA CANYON is located to the northeast of the Arequipa region at 3,600 meters above sea level, very close to the Ampato and Sabancaya volcanoes, is the Colca Canyon, considered one of the deepest in the world, reaching approximately 4,160 meters deep.

The COLCA VALLEY is one of the most extraordinary destinations in the country. Throughout the area you can see colorful pre-Inca cultivated terraces, and in the Cruz del Condor you can appreciate the majestic flight of the condors.

06.00 hrs After breakfast we will leave towards the Mirador de la Cruz del Condor, travel time 2 h. where we will observe the majestic flight of the condors and the depth of the canyon for 1 hour.
Three of its major habitats are located in the south of Peru, in the Colca Canyon – AREQUIPA, in the Mayobamba Canyon and in Chonta – CUSCO.
The Incas believed that the CONDOR WAS IMMORTAL. According to the myth, when the animal feels that it is getting old and that its strength is running out, it lands on the highest and most protruding peak of the mountains, folds its wings, picks up its legs and falls to the bottom of the ravines, where its reign ends. This death is symbolic, since with this act the condor returns to the nest, to the mountains, from where it is reborn towards a new cycle, a new life.
The CONDOR symbolized strength, intelligence and exaltation. It was an animal respected by all those who lived in the Andes since times before the discovery of America, since it not only brought good and bad omens, but it was also responsible for the sun to rise every morning, because with its energy it was able to take the star and raise it over the mountains initiating the life cycle.
On the way back to Chivay we will visit the villages of Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma and Yanque, where we will observe typical dances of the area, as well as the models, colonial churches and terraces.
13.00 hrs We will board the return bus.
18.00 hrs Arrival approx. to the city of Puno.

Hotel: CASONA HOTEL PLAZA.

BREAKFAST – HOTEL / LUNCH & DINNER – PASSENGER