All passengers will be picked up from their respective hotels around 4:00am to board the tourist bus. We´ll head first to the Colca Canyon´s most famous lookout, the Condor´s Cross. From here you´ll be able to observe the canyon in all its enormity and the Andean Condors, the world´s largest bird of flight, as they circle ever higher without flapping their wings and come incredibly close to the canyon walls. Afterwards we´ll enjoy a packed breakfast and then head to the town of Cabanaconde (3287m) fifteen minutes away. Cabanaconde is one of the most traditional of the Canyon´s towns, where the people still cultivate corn on pre-Incan terraces.
In Cabanaconde we´ll have a hearty lunch in order to prepare ourselves for our descent into the Canyon. It´s a 5 hour trek to Llahuar, though it goes quickly thanks to the majesty of the Canyon landscape. At Llahuar you can fish trout for dinner and enjoy the thermal baths while watching the Colca Valley geysers. We´ll spend the night in Llahuar in family homes.
After a hearty breakfast we´ll continue on our journey. We´ll reach the village of Llatica (2438m) after three hours of walking and perhaps stop to rest before walking the final hour to the small village of Fure Oasis (2758m). Along the way we´ll enjoy the canyon scenery, watching inhabitants collect cochineal. We´ll have lunch at Fure. In the afternoon we´ll visit the Huaruro Waterfalls. You´ll have a spectacular view over the waters falling more than 100m. One can also fish in the river of the same name. Afterwards we´ll return to Fure and rest in our rustic bungalows.
After breakfast we´ll walk to Sangalle Oasis; this has a tropical climate and a warm-water pool set between two rocks and encircled by palms and flowers. You´ll be able to go for a swim or descend further to the great Colca River which carved the canyon. We´ll have lunch in Sangalle and then begin our ascent to Cabanaconde (3287m), where you´ll be able to get an excellent view of the mountains and the Canyon. We´ll have dinner and spend the night in a local hotel (with private bath and hot water).
We´ll have our breakfast at 6:00am and then board the bus en route to Chivay. We´ll make stops along the way in different towns and tourist attractions. These include Choquetico Viewpoint, from where you´ll see the Choquetico Model Stone- it´s pre-Inca carving diagrams the terracing and terrain on the canyon´s other side- and Antahuilque Viewpoint, from where you be able to see the lakes below. Upon our arrival at Chivay we´ll have lunch and you´ll have the option to go to the Las Caleras natural hot springs. We´ll return to Arequipa in the afternoon, arriving in the city around 5:00pm.
The 4th annual International Culinary Fair of Lima, Mistura 2011, is taking place right now at Parque de la Exposición in the center of Lima as foodies from around the world gather for good times and good food. The event will be continuing through to the 18th. Throughout the year Peru has been combed for vendors and chefs of quality and there are more than 1800 products available at the market. One of the big themes of this year's event is "fruits of the Amazon", although you'll find products native to all regions of the country.
Sacred Mt Pachatusan, whose name is quechua for "He Who Sustains the Earth", has the honor of being a preferred site for traditional pre-Columbian rites- such as offerings to the Apu (Mountain Deity) or Pachamama (Earth Mother), purifications, and Ayahuasca ceremonies- as well as the site of one of Peru's largest pilgrimages, the Lord of Huanca.
Sanctuary Garden is an area of privately-owned property within the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu zone. It boasts recently discovered archeological sites including Inca terraces, irrigation canals, shrines, storehouses, towers, tunnels, and more, in an area that still has not been fully explored. Part of the Inca Trail Network crosses this area as well.