Arequipa to the Colca

165 km journey travelling around the western perimeter of the Chachani volcano and passing through the National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Parks. Sensational views of the northern sides of El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu.

Ideal for viewing vicunas, alpacas and llamas. Several stops to view the camelids.
Morning tea break at the Stone Forest. Interesting stone formations. Had another drink of the coco mate, which is a potent drink made from leaves and aids in preventing altitude sickness. So far, apart from a little lightheadedness, both Jack and I have been OK.

El Misti left background and Chachani to the right

Spot the camelid

Morning tea - Chachani in the distance

We continued on, climbing steadily through the alpine country, passing through the "tree line" or "cactus line" as our guide called it to the tundra.

A Google Maps car went speeding past us before we could take a photo, what a place to see that!

We stopped at several places to view shepherds and shepherdesses taking care of their flocks of camelids. I bought some gifts from one of them. 

More mountain ranges on the horizon, Hualca Hualca, Ampato and Sabancaya. All are around 6000m high and all snow capped. Ampato is the one where the Ice Maiden, Juanita was found in 1995, and is still an active volcano, with fumes seen emanating from its summit.

Still climbing we came to the high pass, the highest part of journey - Patapampa where the altitude is 4911m. We got out of the car here for photos and also bought some more wares from the locals. We did see one woman collapse from the altitude. She was bundled back into her tour bus promptly to descend to lower ground. We visited the toilets here which were located up on a hill and realised very quickly, how thin the air was. After about 10 metres, our hearts were pounding and we became dizzy. It was the longest trip to the toilet ever. But when we took it slowly, we had no ill effects.

Shepherdess taking care of her flock

National Park

Patapampa Pass

Stones on a cairn to acknowledge Mother Earth, Pachamama

We then descended down towards the Colca River Valley, down roads which rivaled the switchbacks in the French and Italian Alps that we had seen on the Tour de France.

We stopped on one of those switchback bends to have lunch and take in the views of the Colca River Valley. A patchwork of pre Inca terracing withe the Colca River running through and steep mountains on either side. 

We drove into Chivay which is the main town for the region and walked through the local markets.

Colca Valley - Chivay

The local taxi service

The local pedestrian mall

Mosaic hat

Plaza De Armas

Then it was off to our accomodation, Colca Lodge - the most luxurious accomodation in the region, and will probably be the best hotel for this trip. We had decided to splurge in one place, and this was it.

Beautiful lodge, with a great room overlooking the river. Can hear the river flowing at night. Nice soft beds. Buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Superb food. I finally sampled a alpaca steak for dinner - delicious!

Room with a view!

Colca Lodge nestled in the river valley

Colca Lodge