2 DAYS FLEETING TRIP TO COLCA CANYON AND ANDAGUA

Today you need to be ready at 3:45AM for pick-up from your hotel by the tour guide – Then travel car transfer for about 8hrs from Arequipa to Colca canyon – The asphalt road goes up to the high mountains and volcanic range of Arequipa region and then downhill to Chivay town (3600M) - We recommend to bring good warn clothes because on the way up we will reach 4910M as known as Patapampa "Mirador de los Andes".

Around 6:45AM you will be in Chivay, this is an inter-Andean town located on the left bank of the canyon surrounded by agriculture fields and huge snow-peaks. Just between the mountains we will have country breakfast with amazing view of the Colca valley.

Continue traveling with some stops for picture according the tour guide recommendations, you will see thousands of agricultures terraced dated from Inca and pre-Inca times, build over steep vast landscape. Along the way you will get off the transport for more contact with local people and feeling the pure nature of the Colca Canyon.

At 8:30AM before to arrive to Mirador Cruz Del Condor (3700M), offer you 1hr of nice hike along the canyon to stretch legs and looking to find better spots of the canyon, luckily we will see humming birds, Andean rabbits as known as "Chinchilla", falcons, and other types of wildlife.

At the mirador off course you will enjoy the majestic flight of the biggest flying bird in the world, this is El Condor (Vulture Gryphus). Those birds normally fly around the Cruz Del Condor and you can get the best pictures of impressive walls and deep remote towns located inside the canyon. Short time to relax with amazing views of mountains and breath fresh current of air.

Around 10AM we begin our adventure driving to remote and wild sceneries of the canyon. The best of this is because the places where we go will be just for us, without thousand visitors.

We will drive up to 4400M of the Andes, where is nice view of Ampato (6288M), Hualca Hualca (6025M) and volcanic activities of Sabancaya (5980M), which is steaming lot ash over the mountain range.

From the top of the Andes we will descend driving into the valley of Huambo town (3330M), great views of nice green terracing useful thanks to hard work of their villagers.

Our road will switch back all the way down, passing very steep section through agriculture fields on the first section, then will be lot huge walls seems as great geological book where we can read different formation episodes of the Andes and our planet.

After 2hrs driving down we will arrive to the bottom of the canyon (Ccanco 1420M), where is a little oasis of fruit trees administered by few villagers - This place is considered the deepest and heart of Colca canyon. Being in the bottom of the canyon seems like to be in other planet, because the wall formations are incredible, accompanied by therapeutic wind and water noises. The bottom of the canyon is another highlight of this amazing adventure through one of the deepest canyons in the world.

We cross the Colca River over the bridge and drive to the north of the canyon following a bumpy and dusty road with astonish views of huge and arid canyon on the upper zone of Rio Mamacocha. After 30m of driving we will enter to little town of Ayo (1965M - 6446f), which looks as oasis in middle of the Andean desert.

Around 2PM we will have lunch offered by local family.

Between 4PM and 6PM we practice easy hike for about 40min to find the blue and pristine waters of Mamacocha, which is as known as the greatest and natural oasis thanks to thanks to underground waters from Andagua River – Mamacocha lagoon is also considered as “The largest spring water in the Peru” with wonderful scenery and great biodiversity which is good for variety of local flora and fauna as the elusive river otters.

We get down to the shores and explore the lagoon with a great hiking until to see the sunset over the massive walls of the canyon and surrounding mountains of Ayo village.

Around 6:30PM return the village of Ayo, fresh evening for dinner with a local family and rest in small accommodation (B - L - D).

Today we wake up at little early and at 6:30AM we will taste a country breakfast offered by local family. Today will be the longest day on this trip because we have to cover 370KM driving on scenic geography from Ayo to Arequipa city.

After breakfast we will drive into a volcanic valley for about 1hr following a serpentine narrow road up to Antaymarca viewpoint, short hike through nice cactus forest up to the top of mountain for exceptional view of entire valley Andagua (3580M – 11745f) – From the top of Antaymarca view point will be another highlight - The view of the valley from this viewpoint is simply indescribable, looking at many small volcanoes scattered throughout the valley that are part of the Geopark between Andagua and the Colca Canyon. This great valley is decorated by nice Andean countryside, with lots agriculture terraces thanks to ancient and today civilization who are living here to show us their magnificent tradition and culture.

Around 10AM we arrive to little Plaza of Andagua village – Short break for visit the little church and then continue driving up to the highest point of today – The pass will at 4840M of sea level (15912f), exactly at the southern bottom of Coropuna Mountain, this is considered the third highest of Peru (6450M – 21161f), its thick ice cap is the most extensive in earth’s tropical zone, with several outlet glaciers stretching out to lower altitudes.

From the pass of Coropuna Mt we will have great downhill drive on a switchback road for about 3hrs to Majes canyon (600M- 1968f), passing inter-Andean villages and remote landscape of Tagre, Tipan, Paracolca and the arid Andamayo canyon.

Aplao town, is place where will stop to enjoy lunch, the weather is great here thanks to low altitude and sunny days all year – Here we will offer you lunch based in river shrimp as Chupe de Camarones or Chicharron de Camaron…. Bon Appetit !

Between 2PM and 3PM we will drive along fertile valley of rice and other crops into the desert to visit the archaeological site as known as Toro Muerto petroglyphs – Here we hike through a volcanic rock zone over approximately 5KM2 area find carved rocks strewn over hot desert and there are more than a thousand rocks of all sizes, shapes have been crudely, yet strikingly, engraved with a wide variety of distinct representations - No archaeological remains have been directly associated with these figures they date from between 1000 and 1500 years ago, largely attributed to the Wari culture, though with probable additions during subsequent Chuquibambas and Inca periods of domination in the region - The engravings include images of humans, aliens, snakes, llamas, deer, parrots, sun discs and simple and very rare geometric motifs. Some of the figures appear to be dancing; others look like spacemen with large round helmets - obvious potential evidences for the author Eric Von Daniken extraterrestrial musings - To explore this place we will spend no more than one hour to see the most relevant carved rocks.

Late afternoon we will drive back to Arequipa through towards the north side of Atacama Desert – After 3hrs this trip ends with drop-off at customer hotel located in Arequipa (B-L).