5-day trek (difficult & dangerous, 5100m)

At a glance: altitude sickness is a risk. 5100m pass Cabanaconde to Andagua 60km, we recommend 5 days minimum actually a moderate hike with difficult sections much more remote & rugged than the Inca Trail conversational Spanish needed must carry water, long dry sections almost impossible to do without a tent Arequipa to Cabanaconde bus 5-7 hrs Andagua to Arequipa bus 9-10 hours at night, bad roads no good hiking map available May through September are the best months

We did the 5-day, the real Colca Canyon trek, in 2004 & loved it. The best part is the remote section on the other side of the pass, including the rarely visited Valley of the Volcanos — weird cones & lava formations.

But the 5-day route is not for the faint of heart. If you have doubts, do the shorter 2-day hike to the Oasis — excellent, and easy to organize.

Plan on a minimum of 4 nights, 5 days for this adventure. An extra day would be better.

We followed exactly the route as layed out in Lonely Planet Trekking in the Central Andes. This is the best guidebook & is essential because maps of the area are so poor. Virtually no one does the hike in the reverse direction because of altitude & the logistics of transportation.

Understand that the pass is high & remote. If you are stricken with altitude sickness you must head downhill on your own. Do not count on anyone being able to carry you.

You may want to hire an arriero (mule driver) & burro just for the day climbing up to the pass from Mina.)

The worst part is the long, bad bus ride back to Arequipa at night.

5-day trek recommended route night 0 = Cabanaconde 3287m ... 1-2 nights, day hike to Cruz del Condor for acclimatization night 1= Puente Colgado 1850m ... easy hike down to the bridge over the Colca river ... top up water supply & carry on 2 hours to a small pampa 2300m if time allows night 2 = Mina 3600m ... a long, slow climb up to an altitude higher than Cabanaconde night 3= Quebrada Cerani 4550m ... this is the toughest hiking day ... climb up & over the 5100m Cerani pass night 4 = Chachas 3055m ... camp close to the town of Chachas, or ... camp at the nearby lake ... hike to Andagua via either of 2 trails, ... or ... catch a ride on a truck from Chachas to Andagua about 11AM ... catch the 4PM bus out of Andagua night 5 = sleep on a bumpy bus! ... arrive in Arequipa next morning

5-day trek takes you from here, over the distant snow-capped mountains

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