Full Day Trip to Colca Canyon from Arequipa

Arequipa, Peru

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

16 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Let your spirit soar like the Andean condor on this full-day exploration of Colca Canyon. Stop by the ‘Condor’s Cross,’ near one of the canyon’s deepest points, to watch these majestic birds as they appear to float on the wind. Continue to traditional towns like Maca and Yanque where you’ll observe colonial-era churches and locals garbed in needlework dresses. Finish your trip on a high point as you return through 16,000-foot (4900-meter) Patapampa pass. A guide, breakfast and round-trip hotel transport are also covered.

Take a full-day trip to Peru's Colca Canyon from Arequipa
Admire the beautiful Andean condors as they float above the 'Condor's Cross'
Gaze into the depths of Colca Canyon, one of the world's deepest gorges
Discover traditional towns like Maca and Yanque, populated by local women in typical needlework dresses
Take your Peru trip to new heights by crossing the 16,000-foot (4900-meter) Patapampa pass

What's Included

Breakfast
Professional Official English guide
Tourist transport-Shared
Hotel pickup

Hot Spring and Lunch *optional
Admission Fee - BTC Colca ticket Pay in cash on arrival

$21.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We pick up from hotels that are located in the centre area of Arequipa city - Downtown

Operating hours
.2:30 am

Itinerary

Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chivay

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Plaza de Armas

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Iglesia Santa Ana

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mirador Cruz del Condor

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Colca Canyon

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Hot Springs Chacapi

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Plaza de Armas de Chivay

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Abra Patapampa

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Patahuasi

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Plaza de Armas

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Most travelers can participate
Warm clothes
Sun protect
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

3.9

based on 34 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Only 1-hour in Colca Canyon

Stacey_D, Aug 2025

This was a long 16-hour tour, yet we only spent about one hour at Colca Canyon—the main reason we booked it. Unfortunately, the condors only began to appear about 30 minutes into our visit, once it warmed up, leaving us with very little time to enjoy them. Our group of six had expected to spend 2–3 hours at the canyon, so this was a major disappointment.

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Dear travelers Thank you for sharing your feedback. We understand your desire to spend more time at Colca Canyon, especially to enjoy the condors. This tour is designed for travelers with limited time who wish to experience this amazing destination despite the long distances involved—over 10 hours of driving. As a shared tour, we follow a fixed itinerary to accommodate all guests, some of whom continue to Puno or other activities. Because of this, we cannot extend the time at the Condor Cross viewpoint, and we also need to make room for other groups visiting the site. We truly value your comments, and based on this feedback, we are working on developing a new product that better meets these expectations. We appreciate your understanding and hope you were still able to enjoy the beauty of the canyon. Thanks

Flight of the Condors

Mark_H, May 2024

It is a very long day but seeing those large birds soaring makes it worthwhile. Unfortunately the bus was uncomfortable, it was hot and the seating was difficult. Seats reclined way back and it was a bit of agony in the back Our guide Judith was great! Knowledgeable, funny, engaging and super helpful. She knows so much and shared about the geography, the history, the developments and the changes

Great tour, really...

Ellen_M, Mar 2024

Great tour, really enjoyable day. The tour guide was brilliant. He had each stop perfectly timed. I have no critisism for this tour and would 100% encourage people to go on it.

Judy was a great guide

Henry_W, Oct 2023

Judy was a great guide. Answering all questions and providing useful info of the areas we passed. Trip wise the van was completely full and not bad. But other tour companies had better roomy vans. Over all very good experience

The guide was excellent...

ALEXANDER_C, Apr 2023

The guide was excellent in his explanation of each area we saw, history of the region and the condors. I did not give five stars only because of the drop off. After picking us up at 3:00 am at our hotel they drop you off at 6:00 pm at a central drop off. If would have been nice to know that we had to find our way back to our hotel after a 16 hour day

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Dear Alexander We value your feedback as it will help us with the next customers. We are going to work on an option to improve the drop off and improve this aspect. We are glad that you enjoyed the tour. Thank you, Gloria

Great day trip

Brian_M, Jul 2021

Great trip with local history of the colca canyon and the local people with a few encounters of wildlife, and incredible landscapes

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Dear Brian Thank you for visiting Peru we are happy to hear that you enjoyed it and thank you for your feedback. Best regards, Gloria Mamani

Total ripoff

Footprints675236, Oct 2019

They made us be ready at 2:30 am but didn't bother to pick us up until 3:15 am (great time to be waiting for 45 mins). To my surprise, after that they only had two minuscule seats in the back where my legs wouldn't fit with fantastic views to the side of the van. On top of that, the tour is mainly the guide taking you from one rip-off to next: pay for a pic with an alpaca, buy these "handcrafted" stuff, try this "unique" typical juice for 5 bucks. The cherry leaston top was the last stop before lunch, where you could "choose" between spending 50 bucks for a lousy zipline or 15 bucks to bath in some hot springs. If you were not interested in either, you had to wait for an hour in the sun. At least, the rest of the group had great views to the canyon while on the road, but we spent the whole day alternating watching the side of the van with dealing with their extortions. Please choose a different company, because the condor's flight is really a sight to behold and you shouldn't miss it.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Dear customer We apologized for the late pick-up with you and as we said we will continue to work to be better in pick-ups aspects for example. The pick up is according to the location of your hotel we try to arrive between 2:30 to 3am and this time we arrived minutes after 3am because the previous passengers were not ready. As we pick up the passengers, they choose the seats and all the seats are the same, they are normal to do a one-day tour. We understand your discomfort and understand that you would have liked to be ahead in the first seats. It is not a reason why you can rate us with the minimum score in addition to not recommending our company. All photos and juices are paid in soles and not in dollars and is not mandatory. You cannot write false information as it is misinforming our next clients. Thank, Gloria M

Great tour! The only thing weird is...

Angela S, Jun 2017

Great tour! The only thing weird is that the driver had 3 Arequipeans join us on the drive from Arequipa to Colca Canyon.

this tour was okay. We were picked...

Peter L, Sep 2016

this tour was okay. We were picked up at 3am and wasted over an hour picking other people up. the driver and guide were okay. We didnt really get to stay at the cross of the condor more than 45 minutes. the buffet was no good and cost 30 soles. it was extremely cramped and stuffy in that minivan but they did not turn on the AC. there are so many tours to colca canyon from arequipa. I would recommend just booking it through your hotel to save money only 60-70 soles for the same experience.

I would highly recommend visiting...

Zachary_D, Aug 2016

I would highly recommend visiting Colca Canyon and seeing the condors. If possible, however, I would recommend looking for a tour group other than this one. The guide does not really provide more than transport between the sites. He also tried to keep us on a pretty strict timeline. Unfortunately this meant we only had 40 minutes at the condor viewing point. Given that this was sort of the point of the trip, 40 minutes was very short. The guide also yelled at most of the tour group when we took longer than 40 minutes. After the condors we went to spend an hour at a hot springs. There was not really much to do at the hot springs and, given that we were only given 40 minutes at the condor viewing point, an hour seemed a little excessive to spend at the hotsprings. When we returned to Arequipa the bus driver just dropped us off in the middle of the city. Not that I minded the walk back to the hotel, but the description promises drop off at your hotel and it was sort of obnoxious overhearing the busdriver and the guide discussing how it would be a pain to drop each of us off at our hotels. . Again, however, the canyon and the condors were amazing and a sight I will never forget. Those are highly recommended just maybe with a different tour group.

We were picked up on time shortly...

Dale M, Aug 2016

We were picked up on time shortly after 3 AM and our driver was amazing - 13 hours on crazy busy highways! Our tour guide was just OK. He gave us the basic information and shepherded us on and off the van at least 15 times through the day for shopping and beautiful vistas. We felt he took us to locals so we could buy their items and that was OK for me. I was disappointed that he had no personal touch with anyone in the group, we stayed strangers all day, whereas other guides on other tours went out of their way to break the ice and keep us friendly. Our guide simply went over his script, with no extra knowledge of the geology or cultural info of the area. He didn't answer my questions about the archaeology of the area. We were a little disappointed. It is cold so bring layers to put on and off as the day progresses. I had altitude sickness with the highest point being almost 5 km above sea level. Overall it was worth doing.

Tour à faire pour se cultiver et observer les condors

Mava_D, Apr 2024

Super tour malgré le réveil très tôt ! Sandra à été géniale avec nous, elle nous a traduit à chaque fois en anglais pour que l'on puisse comprendre toutes ses explications à chaques points de vues. Une visite très enrichissante grâce à elle ! On a en a prit pleins les yeux aussi Pensez juste à prendre une collation/goûter pour les petits creux de la journée.