Colca Canyon, Mirador San Miguel to Cabanaconde via Oasis Sangalle
near Cabanaconde, Arequipa (Peru)
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Trail photos
Itinerary description
This is a really nice two-day hike across the second deepest canyon in the world (Colca Canyon). You can do the trek easily without any guide. It is exactly the hike you are going to do, if you book a tour in Arequipa. In total it takes three to four days, starting and ending in Arequipa. Attached you also find a map with other trails. The map is provided by the tourist office in Arequipa (at the 'Plaza de Armas'). By clicking on the waypoints you can see how much time it took us to go there from the previous point.
Day 1:
Take any bus from the terminal in Arequipa to Chivay. The trip takes approximately 4 hours and costs 10 soles (May 2011). You spend the first night in the really relaxing village. Nearby the plaza there is a good market where you can buy food and drinks.
Day 2:
In order to see the condors (best time between 8:30 am and 9:30am) at the "Cruz del Condor" you take the 06:00am bus leaving Chivay to Cobanaconde. Tell the driver that you want to get off at the 'Cruz del Condor'. This trip takes almost 2 hours and costs you 2 soles (May 2011). You now have enough time to look for a good spot. Around 09:00am all the tour buses arrive from Arequipa and it gets crowded. At the lower platform we could see the condors closer than on the upper one. After about an hour you catch the next bus going to 'Cabanaconde' (you can ask a park ranger when the buses pass) and you tell the driver to drop you at 'Mirador San Miguel', that's a couple of minutes before you arrive in 'Cabanaconde' (around 20 minutes from the 'Cruz del Condor'). From here you just follow the trail, down into the valley. The trail is really easy to find and you can't go wrong. Once you reach the bridge you might encounter ladies selling snacks and drinks. Continue through 'San Juan de Chuccho', 'Cosnirhua' and 'Malate' before you go down again to the 'Oasis de Sangalle'. There are lots of really friendly locals along the way who can help you showing the way. Spend the night at the oasis, there are a total of five places to stay, you can either camp (5 soles pp) or stay in a simple cabin (10 soles pp). We stayed in "El Eden", a really nice place with a fancy swimming pool. The water is not cold (natural spring) but also not really warm, after a long hike a perfect refreshment. In case you want to drink a cold beer in the pool: buy it in the little store at the end of the village 'Malata'. There it costs 5 soles instead of 10 soles at the oasis. The owner will exchange your warm beer for a cold one for 1 sol :) At night they let all the water out of the pool and fill it again the next morning (takes 2,5 hours).
Day 3:
This is the hardest part. You walk back up to 'Cabanaconde' almost vertically. The way back up takes somewhere between 3 and 4 hours. There are several buses going back to Chivay or also directly to Arequipa. We took the 1:00pm bus back to Chivay and arrived there around 2,5 hours later. In Chivay you can visit the hot springs with 38 degrees warm water, really relaxing after 2 hard days of walking. Make sure to arrive early enough at the thermal springs (around 4:30pm) because it gets again crowded by the organized tour groups. Sleep another night in Chivay.
Day 4:
Go back to Arequipa.
Day 1:
Take any bus from the terminal in Arequipa to Chivay. The trip takes approximately 4 hours and costs 10 soles (May 2011). You spend the first night in the really relaxing village. Nearby the plaza there is a good market where you can buy food and drinks.
Day 2:
In order to see the condors (best time between 8:30 am and 9:30am) at the "Cruz del Condor" you take the 06:00am bus leaving Chivay to Cobanaconde. Tell the driver that you want to get off at the 'Cruz del Condor'. This trip takes almost 2 hours and costs you 2 soles (May 2011). You now have enough time to look for a good spot. Around 09:00am all the tour buses arrive from Arequipa and it gets crowded. At the lower platform we could see the condors closer than on the upper one. After about an hour you catch the next bus going to 'Cabanaconde' (you can ask a park ranger when the buses pass) and you tell the driver to drop you at 'Mirador San Miguel', that's a couple of minutes before you arrive in 'Cabanaconde' (around 20 minutes from the 'Cruz del Condor'). From here you just follow the trail, down into the valley. The trail is really easy to find and you can't go wrong. Once you reach the bridge you might encounter ladies selling snacks and drinks. Continue through 'San Juan de Chuccho', 'Cosnirhua' and 'Malate' before you go down again to the 'Oasis de Sangalle'. There are lots of really friendly locals along the way who can help you showing the way. Spend the night at the oasis, there are a total of five places to stay, you can either camp (5 soles pp) or stay in a simple cabin (10 soles pp). We stayed in "El Eden", a really nice place with a fancy swimming pool. The water is not cold (natural spring) but also not really warm, after a long hike a perfect refreshment. In case you want to drink a cold beer in the pool: buy it in the little store at the end of the village 'Malata'. There it costs 5 soles instead of 10 soles at the oasis. The owner will exchange your warm beer for a cold one for 1 sol :) At night they let all the water out of the pool and fill it again the next morning (takes 2,5 hours).
Day 3:
This is the hardest part. You walk back up to 'Cabanaconde' almost vertically. The way back up takes somewhere between 3 and 4 hours. There are several buses going back to Chivay or also directly to Arequipa. We took the 1:00pm bus back to Chivay and arrived there around 2,5 hours later. In Chivay you can visit the hot springs with 38 degrees warm water, really relaxing after 2 hard days of walking. Make sure to arrive early enough at the thermal springs (around 4:30pm) because it gets again crowded by the organized tour groups. Sleep another night in Chivay.
Day 4:
Go back to Arequipa.
Waypoints
Waypoint
8,323 ft
Bridge
95 minutes from the start to the bridge, two ladies were selling drinks and snacks here.
Waypoint
0 ft
Bus stop
Tell the driver to let you out here.
Waypoint
10,879 ft
Cabanaconde
It took as 190 minutes to go back up from the Oasis
Waypoint
8,750 ft
Cosnirhua
50 minutes from San Juan the Chuccho
Waypoint
0 ft
Malata
Only 20 minutes from Cosnirhua to Malata. At the end of the village a lady is selling cheap beer (5 soles)
Waypoint
11,158 ft
Mirador San Miguel
Here you can get off the bus and start walking
Waypoint
0 ft
Oasis de Sangalle
Takes you approximately 80 minutes from Malata to the Oasis
Waypoint
8,058 ft
San Juan de Chuccho
25 minutes from the bridge to here, a couple of ladies are selling food and drinks
Comments (7)
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Wonderful place... so close to the sky, so well grounded! https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/colca-canyon-mirador-san-miguel-to-cabanaconde-via-oasis-sangalle-1710364/photo-603801
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Difficult
Bajada de 1200 metros en 7 kms.
Subida matutina de 1200m en 5 kms.
2 días
EL DUEÑO DE ESTO NOS TRATÓ MUY MAL .... NO RECOMENDADO... VAYAN A OTRO OASIS . AL LADO HAY UNO MUY BUENO.
THE OWNER OF THIS treated us
BAD .... NOT RECOMMENDED ... they go to another OASIS . THERE NEXT ONE VERY GOOD https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/colca-canyon-mirador-san-miguel-to-cabanaconde-via-oasis-sangalle-1710364/photo-603799
EL DUEÑO DE ESTO NOS TRATÓ MUY MAL .... NO RECOMENDADO... VAYAN A OTRO OASIS . AL LADO HAY UNO MUY BUENO.
THE OWNER OF THIS treated us
BAD .... NOT RECOMMENDED ... they go to another OASIS . THERE NEXT ONE VERY GOOD https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/colca-canyon-mirador-san-miguel-to-cabanaconde-via-oasis-sangalle-1710364/photo-603800
EL DUEÑO DE ESTO NOS TRATÓ MUY MAL .... NO RECOMENDADO... VAYAN A OTRO OASIS . AL LADO HAY UNO MUY BUENO.
THE OWNER OF THIS treated us
BAD .... NOT RECOMMENDED ... they go to another OASIS . THERE NEXT ONE VERY GOOD https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/colca-canyon-mirador-san-miguel-to-cabanaconde-via-oasis-sangalle-1710364/photo-596067
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
Going down (and up and down) to the Oasis took me around 8 hours. Next day my legs were really sore and I was feeling worried about the ascent. Surprisingly it was not as hard as the previous day.
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Very difficult
The problem of doing this trail with a tour group taken in Arequipa is that timings are very short. Even you don't have time to take a picture. Better by your own.