2-day tour of the Colca Valley

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Day 7: 2-DAY TOUR THROUGH THE VALLEY OF COLCA

Today is one of those days that we wanted to get up a little earlier to start the day with peace of mind, since we started the 2-day tour of the Colca Valley and goes and we were wrong to set the time last night of the alarm clock.
As soon as we take time we have to hurry a little in the morning and half an hour before they come to find us, at 7 in the morning, we are having breakfast.
In the email of the reservation they indicate that they will come to find us at our accommodation, La Casa de Melgar, between 7.30 and 8 in the morning to start the 2-day tour of the Colca Valley.


After contacting several agencies, in the end we have booked it directly through the Hotel Colca Lodge Spa, which is where we will stay and from its website we also offer the 2 day / 1 night tour. (UPDATE: As many readers have told us, this tour is no longer offered at the hotel).
With this in mind, a good option is to book this two-day tour with a guide in Spanish in advance on the internet where you will be picked up at the hotel, although in this case, you have to book the hotels on your own.

Summary of the 2-day Tour of the Colca Valley

Summary of the 2-day Tour of the Colca Valley

We charge energy with a good breakfast and at 7.30 in the morning we are already with our backpacks at the reception waiting for them to come find us.
Today is the day that we will begin to take height in Peru, reaching a maximum point of 4910 meters, so we are a little scared with the soroche and after consulting in several forums, they recommended that we carry a couple of bottles of mate Coca to drink along the way.
We comment on it in the breakfast room and they prepare a bottle of hot water with the leaves inside, which then strain and place us in another bottle.
We already have everything you need to start our Two-day tour of the Colca Valley.
We check out with a little pity to say goodbye to Arequipa, a city that we liked so much and where we would stay for a few more days and at 8 o'clock comes to pick us up a van to accommodate our backpacks and after getting settled, we started touring the streets of the city, on the way to the first stop.
We make a first stop to see the famous Misti volcano, the mini Misti and the Pichu Pichu and from one of the roads of Arequipa.

Views of volcanoes from Arequipa

The second stop of our 2-day tour of the Colca Valley It was in a store where we took the opportunity to buy coca candy, coca leaves and water, after recommendations our guide had given us about altitude sickness or soroche.

Coca candies with which we will help to avoid altitude sickness

And also coca leaves to chew on the road

After a few minutes of shopping, we follow the path with more indications for altitude sickness or soroche that we, for the moment, are combining with our sips of coca with traditional packaging 🙂

At this point we would like to comment on some of the recommendations, without going into medical details, since we are not much less experts on the subject, that they gave us for altitude sickness or soroche and that they worked for us and with them we avoided almost to 100%.
- We were carrying pills called Edemox from home that, although they are not precisely for altitude sickness, were recommended for helping the body not to suffer.
It is best to discuss it with your doctor, but we anticipate how we take them: we started taking them one day before reaching maximum height (we started taking them yesterday in Arequipa) and we continued them for 2 more days after arriving at maximum height.
- One of the main recommendations they gave us was that altitude sickness or soroche is caused in a very high percentage by psychological factors. Going with fear, thinking every minute how high we are, if we are already descending ... etc, does not help at all to avoid altitude sickness and surely we will not enjoy what we have just come to enjoy.
- Apart from these two things, we were chewing coca leaves (you put about 5 leaves with a catalyst and chews for about 3-4 minutes, then you get about 4 or 5 more and do the same, to end with other 4-5 more leaves You have to chew about 12-15 leaves for about 10 minutes, so that you start to notice that the lips go numb a little and make their effect). We only did this on the first day of 2-day tour of the Colca Valley.
We were also drinking coca candy, very good by the way and drinking coca tea or triple mate during the days we were at height.
- Do not eat too much, since digestion at high altitude is slower and that is when the stomach ache comes and discomfort with consequent altitude sickness, sleep the necessary hours and do not make unnecessary efforts.
These were the recommendations we took and as we have told you, except for a slight headache that lasted a few hours, the rest of the days we were perfectly.

After this little paragraph, we continue with the travel diary ...
We arrived at Yura and started the "dreaded" ascent. Following the guide's recommendations, it's time to start chewing coca with a catalyst that we have in the same bag we bought.
Between the leaves, candies and coca tea, we will be able to climb Everest!
We pass through the Salinas and Aguas Blancas Reseva, but only on one side, which is where the road passes, but which allows us to have a first view of the place.

Salinas Reserve

Incredible landscapes in the Salinas Reserve

They explain that there is a lot of truck traffic on this road, as it is the Transoceanic highway that leads to Colca, Puno and Bolivia.
The day is very clear and although it is sunny, we notice that it does not heat as much as in the areas we have already visited in Peru. It starts to notice that temperatures have dropped.
On the way we make a couple of stops in the Reserve to be able to take pictures and stretch our legs.

It makes you want to take them home !!

After a few minutes surrounded by landscapes with a spectacular sky, we pass the tollbooth and stop at a restaurant where we are recommended to order a triple mate: coca for height, muña for headache and chachacoma, good for the stomach. And as we always follow the recommendations, we order a couple of cups for 6 soles.

Triple mate in a restaurant on the way to Colca

After taking our mate, we went outside to enjoy the mountains of Patahuasi and the characteristic rock formations that form in this place.

Rock formations in Patahuasi

Landscapes on the way to Colca

We are at 4011 meters and we have no symptoms of altitude sickness or soroche and although we have avoided thinking a lot about this subject, as we had been recommended, it is inevitable for us not to pay attention to our body, looking for any sign that is suspicious.
After half an hour enjoying these incredible places, we get back on track and continue our tour of the day of the 2-day tour of the Colca Valley.
We are on our way to Patapampa, the highest point of the day at 4910 meters, while on the tour we look for some group of llamas and alpacas to go down and take some photos.
The sky we have over us is incredible and hopelessly reminds us of what we could enjoy in Kenya and Tanzania a few years ago.
And the landscapes also seem taken from an Eden!

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Peru by travelers:
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After a couple of stops to enjoy the scenery and wildlife, we follow the path to the highest point today.
We continue chewing coca, drinking mate from the one they prepared for us at La Casa de Melgar and eating coca candies that, by the way, are very good and we believe that they will be another of our vices on this trip to Peru for free.
As we ascend the sky is getting covered and we already intuit that it will be difficult to see the volcanoes from here ...
Finally, we arrived at Patatampa at 4910 meters of altitude and one of the points we most wanted to know.

Patapampa, at 4910 meters of altitude

In Patapampa we find an area with a lot of magnetism that we love and more when we find that the sky begins to get darker and does not let us see any of the mountains around us, instead, we can enjoy a couple of rays With incredible thunder.
You have to look for the positive part of everything and in this case, who has seen a lightning at 4910 meters? 😉

Patapampa Leaving one of our wishes ...

It takes about 45 more minutes to reach the Colca Valley which is about 3400 meters away and here, the group continues to eat at a buffet restaurant, while we go to the Colca Lodge Spa where we have booked our accommodation today with the lunch included.
The decision to choose this accommodation, about 30 minutes from Chivay and in the heart of Colca Canyon is to make a small "rest" at this point of the trip and enjoy the private hot springs available to the hotel.
Before arriving in Chivay, we paid the 70 soles of access to the Colca Canyon and when we arrive we have a car waiting for us, which will take us directly to our accommodation in the Colca Valley.
The journey is made on an unpaved road, surrounded by lightning and thunder and with background music with Perales as the protagonist, an author that we have heard many times since we arrived here.
We arrive at Colca Lodge at 13.30, we check in quickly, leave our bags and go straight to the restaurant to eat.
So far we have not had no symptoms of altitude sickness or soroche, but we do not want to sing victory, although this encourages us more his head, when I, I have to confess, I was especially scared with the subject.
While we drink a mate of coca in the bar, courtesy of the hotel, an incredible downpour begins to fall that leaves us a little discouraged, since this afternoon the idea is to enjoy the facilities and its thermal springs.

Drinking a coca tea at the Colca Lodge

So with this incredible time, we go to the restaurants to charge energy before two in the afternoon.
We have one of the day meals of the day included in the package of 2-day tour of the Colca Valley , so we decided to pay for the food, where we ordered an antipasto, alpaca and chicken with mushrooms, plus a pitcher of lemonade and an ice cream cheese and passion fruit for 157 soles plus 12 mandatory tips 😉

Alpaca meat at the Colca Lodge

All the dishes are delicious and we enjoy all the recommendations made by the chef.
Before we leave, we reserve a table at the window for tonight at 8.30 and we go to our room that is spectacular with incredible views that explain why so many people come here to spend a few days and not just passing through, as It is our case.
We rest for a while to prevent soroche, which we take as a perfect excuse to enjoy a nap and shortly before 5 in the afternoon we leave the room to go for a walk around the hotel facilities.

Hot springs at the Colca Lodge

We pass through the pools of hot springs, but when it is cold and raining, the truth is that we do not feel like getting too much, although we do not want to miss the opportunity to enjoy this wonder.

Hot Springs at Colca Lodge

After the walk, as we arrived at our room, we turn our thoughts around and think: is it not the best way to take advantage of some hot pools than a rainy day? Why are you going to get into a place like that if it's sunny?
So we put on our swimsuits, our bathrobe and make our way to the pools when night has already fallen.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Peru

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We begin to notice that at this height, about 3,500 meters, any simple effort makes us more tired, so we take the road from the room to the pools very calmly.
And what can we say about this corner of our hotel: without a word!
Without a doubt, if you can get here, don't think about it. Bathing in the moonlight in a place like this is priceless.

After a bath in the hot springs of Colca Lodge

After more than an hour and when we are more wrinkled than a chickpea, we are going to take a shower and go to the bar to have something to do time before dinner.
This "intermediate" in the trip is serving us to charge batteries and have half a day of vacation within the trip.
After 8 pm, we go to the restaurant for dinner where we order a capresse salad, beef meatballs and alpaca fillet, water and Inca Kola plus apple pie and mango mango ice cream for dessert.

Alpaca steak for dinner

This dinner is included in the package we hired, so we cannot give you the price 😉
At 9.30 at night we are already in our room at the Colca Lodge Spa with a slight headache, which we believe we have not helped by eating so much, that makes us sleep in our huge bed before we realize ...

Views from our room at the Colca Lodge

Day 8 EL MIRADOR CRUZ DEL CONDOR AND TRANSFER TO PUNO

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