April 21, 2025 to April 25, 2025: Colca Canyon, Peru

We had an early departure from Cusco to catch our 8am flight to Arequipa. Our home for the next 4 nights was in the Colca Canyon, about 3 hours from Arequipa and a small resort called Puqio. Puqio had a private car waiting for us at the airport complete with pillows and blankets for the 3 hour drive. We stopped after about an hour for a bathroom break and our guide, Gonzalo, brought us a hot tea with muña, cocoa, and Pitahaya (dragon fruit) to help with altitude as we were about to go over the pass with an elevation over 16,000 feet. We were going to stop to see views of the mountains, volcanos and animals but it was snowing when crossed so we just kept going. 

Puqio was very small with only 8 guest rooms (4 of which were tents) and a main living/dining room.  Our room was modeled after an African safari tent (complete with indoor/outdoor shower and an outdoor tub) and while it was spacious it was a little tight after we unpacked our duffles prepared for a 5-week trip.  While inside it definitely had the safari feel, but we were a little disappointed with the view and lack of privacy out the back (which was definitely different from African safari tents).

We had intended to do some hikes in the afternoon but just after we arrived the weather turned cold and rainy so we opted for a nap instead followed by soak in the hot tub.

Gonzalo chatted with us after lunch to make plans for tomorrow. We would start at 7:30 and go to the condor viewing spot (Cruz del Cura) do a short hike and then go see the geysers. 

Very strong coffee was delivered to our room at 6am and we ready by 7:30. Our first stop was a viewing spot of the canyon and fortunately it wasn't too crowded. Our next stop was Cruz del Cura for condor viewing.

Terraces, snow capped mountains beautiful valleys

We stayed at Cruz del Cura for a while which gave us the opportunity to explore by ourselves for a while. 

Morning dew on flowers at Cruz del Cura

Gonzalo fixed us some muña tea and performed a "pacha mama" ceremony to wish us well (which seemed almost identical to the ceremony we did by Humantay lake minus the silly hats).

Shortly after the ceremony we saw many condors - close enough to tell if they were adults or juveniles and males or females. Three of them perched on rock very close to us and Gonzalo guided us down the cliff to get a closer view.

Juvenile on the left, 2 males on the right

After going for a short walk we got back in the car to head to the geyser. Gonzalo surprised us by bringing eggs to boil which was really fun.

In front of the geyser

We returned to Puqio for lunch where they were preparing Pachamanca- a traditional dish cooked outside in a hole underground. (We also had this dish at lodge 3 on the Salkantay trek.) 

Lunch buried underground at Puqio

After lunch we met Gonzalo for another hike up to some old tombs and then across the mountain to an archeological village.

We saw many bones in tombs

Ruins of Uyo Uyo

We had an early start the next morning (6:30) to hike up to the Chimpa Fortress. The hike up was steep but beautiful.  

On the way up

First sighting of the fortress

Filip in front of a storage hut- this one used no mortar in between the stones

At the top - over 12,000ft

Look closely and you can see drawings of llamas

When we got to the bottom, Gonzalo and Michael (our driver) had prepared a full breakfast for us!

Breakfast after our hike

For the afternoon we did an 4.5 mile hike through the canyon. 

We began our third morning with a hike to the Pumunata Caves which was about 5 miles out and back, starting at an elevation around 12,500ft climbing to over 14,000ft mostly in the sun. It was a pleasant hike and we saw no other people. 

We did see many chinchilla - although they were really tough to get a picture of because they were well camouflaged with the rocks.

Chinchilla - bottom middle

An Aguila Mora Eagle joined us on our hike

In the cave

Cows blocking our path on the way down

We returned to Puqio for lunch and finally got to taste alpaca with lunch (it didn't taste like chicken) and we took the afternoon off to rest our tired feet.

Puqio was not exactly what we expected, but ultimately we had a great time. The service was top notch and the food was great. We definitely tried some unique Peruvian dishes that we probably wouldn't have had other places. Having a private guide to show us around was an unexpected benefit and Gonzalo made sure we hiked to our hearts content.