The Second Deepest Canyon in the world
Here is some information about the Rio Colca. This information is relevant as of 2019, hope it helps!
The Rio Colca is a spectacular place! Just getting to the river is a mission in its self. Here is what we did, plus some general information, that may be of use.
Getting there day 1:
1 We purchased our tickets: Araquipa to Cabanaconde from Anadalucia bus company the day before we left (on Friday). Andalucia has a bus that goes to Huambo every Sunday. There are pros and cons to this. Pros: takes you a bit farther, will be way easier to get to the river and way cheaper. Cons: you do not get to see the Colca canyon from up above. Trust me it is worth it to see it from the top. I would personal recommend going straight to huambo it will make your life easier Cost of bus 17 soles pp plus 10 Sole pp for the kayaks We stayed at the bright orange Hostel in Cabanaconde in the main square, it cost 15 sole a night for the dorm (3 beds), very comfortable, nice host and good WiFi. Expect to pay minimum 7 Sole for food in Cabanaconde.
Getting there day 2:
Woke up early to find a ride to Huambo. No luck every one is charging crazy prices, like 350-500 soles for a taxi. So we have decided to take the morning bus at 5 am the next day. The same bus we would have taken if we had gone one day later.
Getting there day 3:
caught the 5 am bus to Huambo for 20 Sole plus 5 sole for both kayaks. It was a 2 hour ride down to the town. Huambo is awsome, not as beautiful as Cabanaconde but way friendlier. It would also be a way cheaper place to stay. We got a ride in a tuktuk for 50 Sole to Canco. Vamos!!! the ride is amazing, so beautiful. It is also much longer as there is a new road it took us 2hrs to get to Canco and the brand new bridge, Puente Tingo (built in Aug 2019). We put on the river and paddled 3 km of class 2/3, we then stopped right before the first gorge due to crazy head winds (this is not normal). We had a very nice campsite, great views, lots of firewood. On the River
Rio Colca day 1:
Refer to the white water Peru guide book for rapid descriptions and locations. However. There are 3 major portages around sives. We portaged left on all of them. There are a few others that you may, or may not want to portage. We played it safe and scouted several times. Other than that, there are km after km of amazing boat scout able white water in the most beautiful canyon I have ever been in, in my life. We camped after the last gorge on RR. You know you are almost done the trip when willows and trees line both sides. We camped in this section. A word of warning, there are mining camps and road access on RR i would suggest camping on RL. We had nothing bad happen, but did not sleep well as there was a person with a light wondering around down river (on RR).
Day 2:
Paddled the last few KM till we got to the huge floom bringing in water on RR. It was a couple more KM till we saw the road on RR, we got out at a wire platform crossing a few km down the river. We then walked up to the road and caught the first combi to alpo. There is lots of traffic on this road we got picked up within seconds, but you could easily wait around. In Alpo we went to the Combi station, but none had roof racks, so we walked to the other side of town and got the bus back to Arequipa, I cant remember what the tickets cost, but it was 15 Sole total for the kayaks.
I hope this helps.
The Rio Colca is a spectacular place! Just getting to the river is a mission in its self. Here is what we did, plus some general information, that may be of use.
Getting there day 1:
1 We purchased our tickets: Araquipa to Cabanaconde from Anadalucia bus company the day before we left (on Friday). Andalucia has a bus that goes to Huambo every Sunday. There are pros and cons to this. Pros: takes you a bit farther, will be way easier to get to the river and way cheaper. Cons: you do not get to see the Colca canyon from up above. Trust me it is worth it to see it from the top. I would personal recommend going straight to huambo it will make your life easier Cost of bus 17 soles pp plus 10 Sole pp for the kayaks We stayed at the bright orange Hostel in Cabanaconde in the main square, it cost 15 sole a night for the dorm (3 beds), very comfortable, nice host and good WiFi. Expect to pay minimum 7 Sole for food in Cabanaconde.
Getting there day 2:
Woke up early to find a ride to Huambo. No luck every one is charging crazy prices, like 350-500 soles for a taxi. So we have decided to take the morning bus at 5 am the next day. The same bus we would have taken if we had gone one day later.
Getting there day 3:
caught the 5 am bus to Huambo for 20 Sole plus 5 sole for both kayaks. It was a 2 hour ride down to the town. Huambo is awsome, not as beautiful as Cabanaconde but way friendlier. It would also be a way cheaper place to stay. We got a ride in a tuktuk for 50 Sole to Canco. Vamos!!! the ride is amazing, so beautiful. It is also much longer as there is a new road it took us 2hrs to get to Canco and the brand new bridge, Puente Tingo (built in Aug 2019). We put on the river and paddled 3 km of class 2/3, we then stopped right before the first gorge due to crazy head winds (this is not normal). We had a very nice campsite, great views, lots of firewood. On the River
Rio Colca day 1:
Refer to the white water Peru guide book for rapid descriptions and locations. However. There are 3 major portages around sives. We portaged left on all of them. There are a few others that you may, or may not want to portage. We played it safe and scouted several times. Other than that, there are km after km of amazing boat scout able white water in the most beautiful canyon I have ever been in, in my life. We camped after the last gorge on RR. You know you are almost done the trip when willows and trees line both sides. We camped in this section. A word of warning, there are mining camps and road access on RR i would suggest camping on RL. We had nothing bad happen, but did not sleep well as there was a person with a light wondering around down river (on RR).
Day 2:
Paddled the last few KM till we got to the huge floom bringing in water on RR. It was a couple more KM till we saw the road on RR, we got out at a wire platform crossing a few km down the river. We then walked up to the road and caught the first combi to alpo. There is lots of traffic on this road we got picked up within seconds, but you could easily wait around. In Alpo we went to the Combi station, but none had roof racks, so we walked to the other side of town and got the bus back to Arequipa, I cant remember what the tickets cost, but it was 15 Sole total for the kayaks.
I hope this helps.