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Colca Canyon and valley

Choose between a valley stay and a canyon walking plan before booking Colca. They are two ways to visit the same area, with very different days.

Green terraces and the river in the Colca Valley beneath a cloudy sky.
Green terraces and the river in the Colca Valley beneath a cloudy sky. Resizing, compression and display cropping by Perutrip. Image license: CC BY-SA 4.0. · Thomas Fuhrmann / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photographer · Source photograph · CC BY-SA 4.0

What to expect

Colca is often presented as one excursion, but your decision starts earlier: do you want stops along the way and a return to your base, or is walking the purpose of the trip? Let that decide where you stay, not the other way round.

How it fits into a journey

Use Chivay for a local valley plan. Research Cabanaconde separately if walking becomes the main purpose; you can return to Arequipa after your stay before starting another part of Peru.

Practical answers

Can I visit Colca without trekking?

Yes. Plan around the valley and a chosen viewpoint without descending into the canyon. Ask exactly which parts of an excursion involve walking and which involve driving: the name Colca alone does not tell you.

Further reading 1 source

Background on the subjects covered here.

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