Travel through Yanque, Maca and Pinchollo up to Cruz del Condor viewpoint. Here you will see a fine view of the flight of condors as well as of the 1,200 meters depth of the canyon.

We leave the hotel in our mountain bikes and go around Chivay in a soft ride that shows us how local families live. Moreover, we visit stone mills, Chivay’s open country and finally a ride in order to take a thermomedical bath in La Calera.

The 14 towns that are part of the lower part of the canyon come from the same number of “encomiendas” (a trusteeship labor system) created by the Spanish when they arrived around 1570. We will travel around these communities and visit their restored renaissance and baroque churches full of traditional religious expression and syncretism. Also, we will visit country houses, farm fields and more than 8 thousand hectares of terraces and canals, all designed centuries ago that continue working. 

We will observe geological transformations from the highest part of the canyon that the Colca River carried out when designing it. Here first civilizations lived in caves and left petroglyphs, mommies and ceramic remains that nowadays we can watch. The current inhabitants work on camelids breeding and in their small country houses that provide family food support. The activities designed by Casa Andina let you travel across all these places and paths that during centuries their inhabitants used for their cultural and commercial exchanges. 

Visit to Sacsayhuamán (Chivay) artisans in our hotel and we learn spinning, dyeing, alpaca and sheep wool knitting techniques and can see local typical embroidery of the region, unique in the country.

Guided by our astronomer through the planetarium-observatory, travelers will take a look to constellations and stars most important observed in the hemisphere south and the cosmology developed by Andean communities. During the first part to the planetarium visit, computer projections are carried out and then go to the dome in order to discover some of the well-known stars.

Our passengers, after reaching Cabanoconde, will descend into the canyon depth, crossing several communities in order to arrive to The Oasis. The climate in this area is subtropical and very rich in biodiversity: several species of andean palms and birds. Early next morning, we will contemplate the sun rising between the walls of the canyon and will begin, after breakfast, our ascent to the starting point of the activity, to finally go to the Cruz del Condor to watch the world’s biggest flying bird.

We travel through the High Colca highway about 15 kms. and take the crossroad up to the Misti. The first day we arrive to the Misti slope where we camp and the following day we reach the summit, 5597 meters above sea level.