Full Day Tour to Colca Canyon from Arequipa

Van was very small. Unable to sit comfortably. The whole canyon was rushed and the pool was packed. Would rather have skipped it

Starting of around 3 AM and finishing at 6 PM back In Arequipa, it certainly was a long day. There were a few stops at viewpoints in the canyon itself, for breakfast and lunch, and some other breaks as well. The views were stunning and very much worth the price and the time, even though November apparently isn't the season for seeing the condors.

David, our tour guide was informative, passionate and funny. The day was worth the 2:30am start. We saw Condors, were amazed by the canyon, enjoyed the hot springs and buffet lunch and coo’ed over the alpacas. The tour was organised to avoid the other tours and give us the most authentic tour. David made the tour!

I am a Mexican biologist and birdwatcher, this trip was waiting months in advance, all I wanted was to see a single condor in its natural environment. The morning the trip started we had a very cold time, as we were at -9 °C at the midpoint of the mountain range, I thought the whole trip would be serious (I was not prepared for that). With form we advance the landscape change and the temperature rose. The moment I could see 5 individuals of condor at the same time I felt a lot of happiness, my journey could conclude and I would be happy. I advise you to sleep well and prepare for an unforeseen change of weather. On my visit we went from cold to warm very quickly. The guides were super attentive, charismatic and understanding, they are the kind of people you want to always have on your travels. Without a doubt the volcano viewpoint and seeing the condor fly is the best experience I could have in Arequipa.

Unfortunately nothing good to say about this tour. We’ve head of “Peruvian time” but the bus pick up was almost an hour later than planned - we messaged the host several times but got no response. When they finally arrived, we were told to sit at the back of a fully packed bus of about 30 people - we were originally told the max persons on this tour would be 18. Considering you spend most of the day on the bus this was extremely uncomfortable, with 0 space to move - not practical for fully grown adults on a hot bus! When the guide spoke, we couldn’t hear a thing as she spoke at the front with no microphone. We were sat amongst the Spanish speakers despite selecting an English tour, the other English speakers were sat together which meant all information was first passed to them at the front, then translated into Spanish. The guide made little attempt to explain anything to us in English despite our requests - we didn’t feel we learned anything beyond our reading online as a result of this. Stops were overly touristy and we often felt pressured to spend money - breakfast in particular was diabolical. This was supposed to be included but consisted of a bread roll and a measly portion of butter and jam, shared between at least 6 people. When we asked for more, we were told there would be a charge, eggs were offered but also came with a charge. We brought our own lunch as this wasn’t provided but we felt the host and restaurant manager were again pressuring us to spend money. When given instructions to meet the driver at specific times, the bus almost always appeared 20+ mins later, meaning we spent a lot of time waiting around rather than enjoying the sights. Overall, considering this trip took 16+ hours, there was very little substance to this tour. After speaking to other people on this tour we learned they felt the same. We feel we wasted what limited time we have in Arequipa and came out of it exhausted from nothing!

Long day, but saw a lot. Complimentary/continental breakfast sucked but the rest of the day was good.

Very good tour, excellent tour, we leave on time, modern mobilities, we arrive early to see the flight of the condor, highly recommended, excellent guide

Nice views. The tour guide spoke mostly in Spanish throughout the tour and only a little bit in English for us non Spanish speakers.

It is very important to choose well the dates to visit the viewpoints, very long journey and find everything super cloudy without being able to enjoy the condors, not worth it. It is also important that buses are adequate, such a long journey badly seated because there is no space leaves you "destroyed".

Getting to know this part of Peru with the guide service changes your perspective. I highly recommend that you take this tour to see and understand the cultures that inhabited the canyon. Besides being able to see the condor!! The Mari guide made this experience very fun, as well as educational. We'll never forget her:)