Cotahuasi Canyon

Cotahuasi Canyon is in Southern Sierra of Peru, near Arequipa.

Get in

From Arequipa's Terrapuerto there are several bus companies going to Cotahuasi and Alca. Ana express, Inmaculada, Cromotex and Nazareno offer services leaving between 18:00 and 19:00, costing between S/30 and S/35.

Get around

Most of the villages are connected buy bus. In some cases there's only one service a day, though.

• Cotahuasi – Alca: every hour.
• Alca – Puyca: 05:00, back 13:00. Cost: S/6
• Cotahuasi – Pampamarca: 05:00 and 16:00, back 06:00 and 13:00. Cost: S/6.50
• Cotahuasi – Charcana: 15:00 back 06:00. Cost: S/7
• Cotahuasi – Quechualla: 05:30 back 08:00. And on F Su M: 13:00, back 16:00. Cost: S/7

See and do

Panorama of Cotahuasi Canyon

• Ruins of Maukallacta: 40-60 minutes walk from Puyca. Built by the local culture of Allccas, Maukallacta was afterwards occupied by Waris and Incas.
• Ruins of Ccalla: 2-3 hours walk from Alca or 1-2 hours from Lucha. Typical Wary city.
• Luicho hot springs: three different pools around 35°C. Costs: S/3, S/4 and S/6. Open from 03:00 to 21:00.
• Uskune waterfall: 20 minutes walk from Pampamarca.
• Huito stone forest: 40-60 minutes walk from Pampamarca. Beautiful stone formation at 4000 masl. Condor observation.
• Charcana-Quechualla trail: in this 5-6 hours trek you descent to one of the deepest part of Cotahuasi Canyon.

Sleep

Easy to find local accommodation or a place to camp in every village.

Pampamarca: Hospedaje María Vargas (tlf: 966368688) S/10, dinner S/5, breakfast S/4.

Quechualla: Hospedaje Plaza Quechualla (tlf: 054-630933), full pension S/30.