Colca Canyon, Peru: Depth, Condors and How to Visit

It is a quarter to nine and nobody on the viewpoint is talking. Two hundred people stand along a stone wall with their cameras up, breath steaming in the cold, looking down into a gorge so deep the river at the bottom makes no sound. Then a shadow slides over the rocks below you. A condor rises out of the canyon on the morning air, close enough that you can see the white collar on its neck and the fingers of its wing feathers spread open. It does not flap once.

Short answer: The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in the Arequipa region, about 160 km (99 miles) northwest of the city of Arequipa, roughly 70 km (43 miles) long and up to 3,270 m (10,730 ft) deep, more than twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. Most people visit it on a 2-day trip from Arequipa to see the Andean condors at Cruz del Cóndor.

The Colca is not near Cusco, and that is the first thing to plan around. It sits on the road between Arequipa and Puno, so it fits a southern Peru route that also takes in Lake Titicaca. Here is how deep it is, what you see, when the condors fly and how to fit it into a trip.

Colca Canyon at a glance

The Colca Canyon runs through the province of Caylloma in the Arequipa region of southern Peru, with farming villages and terraces along its upper valley and a deep gorge further west. Chivay, the main town, sits at the eastern end of the valley at 3,635 m (11,926 ft).

How deep is the Colca Canyon?

The Colca Canyon reaches about 3,270 m (10,730 ft) deep, measured from the peaks above it to the river, according to Wikipedia. The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a little over a mile deep, about 1,857 m (6,093 ft), so the Colca is more than twice as deep.

What people get wrong is expecting a Grand Canyon view, a long open gash in a flat desert. The Colca is a mountain valley that narrows into a gorge, with slopes that climb to volcanoes over 6,000 m (19,700 ft). At the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint the river sits about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) below you. Cotahuasi, another canyon in the Arequipa region, is a little deeper by most measurements, but it is much harder to reach.

The condors at Cruz del Cóndor

The Andean condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world, with a wingspan that can reach 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) and a weight of up to 15 kg (33 lb). The IUCN lists it as vulnerable. At the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint, the birds use the warm air rising out of the canyon to lift off the cliffs in the morning, and they flap their wings only about 1% of the time in flight.

When to see the condors

Be at the viewpoint between about 8 and 10 a.m. Tour operators and birding guides put the peak window at roughly 9 a.m. to noon, but the first hour after the sun warms the canyon is when the birds rise closest to the wall. Sightings are not guaranteed. On cloudy or cold mornings the condors may stay on their ledges.

The viewpoint is about an hour by road west of Chivay, which means leaving town around 6:30 a.m. after an early breakfast. Wear layers. At that hour, at about 3,800 m, the stone wall is cold to the touch, and by ten you will be in a T-shirt in the sun.

What else to see in the Colca Valley

The condors are the reason most people come, but the valley itself is the part that stays with you: villages with whitewashed colonial churches, stone terraces climbing every slope, and herds of alpacas and llamas on the high plains.

The terraces and villages

The valley floor between Chivay and Cabanaconde, about 56 km (35 miles) apart, is lined with farming terraces still in use. Yanque, Maca and Cabanaconde each have a colonial church on the plaza and a quiet morning market. Many tours stop in Yanque or Maca on the way to the viewpoint.

The hot springs near Chivay

Thermal springs about 3 km (2 miles) from Chivay have been turned into heated pools, and an afternoon soak after the drive from Arequipa is our favorite remedy for the cold of the high plains.

The road from Arequipa

The drive from Arequipa to Chivay takes about 3 hours and crosses the Salinas y Aguada Blanca reserve, where you often see vicuñas grazing by the road. The highest point is the Patapampa pass, at about 4,910 m (16,109 ft), with a view of the Ampato, Sabancaya and Hualca Hualca volcanoes. Stay at the pass only a few minutes, walk slowly and drink water. It is higher than any point you will sleep at on the trip.

Altitude in the Colca

The Colca is a high-altitude trip. Chivay sleeps at 3,635 m (11,926 ft), higher than Cusco at 3,399 m (11,152 ft), and the road crosses 4,910 m on the way in. Arequipa, at 2,335 m (7,660 ft), is a much easier place to spend your first nights. If you are flying into Peru and heading to the Colca soon after, read our guide to Cusco altitude, which covers the same symptoms and how to pace the climb.

How to visit the Colca Canyon

Most travelers visit the Colca on a 2-day, 1-night trip from Arequipa: the drive and the hot springs on day one, the condors at dawn on day two. A 1-day tour from Arequipa also exists, but it starts around 3 a.m. and puts about 7 hours on the road in one day. We do not recommend it.

The smarter route is to treat the Colca as the bridge between Arequipa and Lake Titicaca. Cross the valley in two days and continue east to Puno, instead of driving back to Arequipa. That is how we build it: our Peru in 15 days itinerary goes from Arequipa to Chivay on day 5, sees the condors at Cruz del Cóndor on day 6 and arrives in Puno that evening, from US$2,084 per person. We do not sell the Colca as a separate tour, but we can add it to a custom trip that includes the lake.

Visitors pay an entrance ticket, the Boleto Turístico del Colca, at the checkpoint on the way into the valley. It is sold by AUTOCOLCA, the local tourism authority. Tours usually include it, and the price changes, so confirm it before you go. On Lake Titicaca, start with our guide to whether Lake Titicaca is worth it.