Day 13: Cusco to Colca Canyon

We are back on the road (and through the air) today as we depart Cusco and head to Colca Canyon via Arequipa. According to Google Maps, the trip from Cusco to Colca Canyon COULD be made in about 11 hours via bus, but we much prefer feeling like kings on LATAM, so… 4:30AM wake up call it is. In preparation, we completed our packing last night, so all we had to do was grab some breakfast of fruit and pastries from the buffet. Turns out 5AM is a bit too early for eggs benedict.

Early morning Monasterio Courtyard

We also arranged transportation last night, and the taxi was right on time at 5:30AM. With almost no traffic on the streets (everybody must still be passed out from Inti Raymi), we made it to the airport plenty early and checked in. A bus full of EF students arrived at the same time, but no problem, hello premium economy checkout line. Woo!

Out the quarter door

Only in theaters! And Peru!

We cleared security and found a working Priority Pass lounge in the AQP. Everyone else in the room cleared out to catch an earlier flight to Lima, so we had the place to ourselves to grab some second breakfast. Heading to our gate, we each carried a backpack and duffle bag (as per the rules). For the first time, we were “asked” if we wanted to gate-check our bags, and when we declined, they made us “try” the luggage-size-checker. Don’t they know we are PREMIUM ECONOMY!?!? Anyways, our bags fit easily, duh. Left us alone after that.

We got the whole lounge

Boarding was a breeze (after all the nuns with military babies) and the flight to Arequipa was only about an hour. We also got some great views out the window on the way.

Looking canyon-y

Volcán Chachani (left) and Volcán Misti (right)

Mining is kind of a big deal here

Arequipa’s airport is pretty small, with only two gates. Our bags came out immediately (Matt’s was first and Jo’s was fourth). We strolled outside to meet our pre-arranged ride to Colca Canyon, four hours away. Froiland was our Spanish-speaking driver, and his co-pilot Jorge was our English-speaking guide who provided fun facts and information about the area along the way. There are many large volcanos visible from Arequipa, with a total of 98 in the entire region. Of these 98, 16 of them are active, and eight of those are extremely lively these days. It’s no surprise the stones used in the White City area of Arequipa are made of volcanic tuff and pumice.

Pausing at a shop at the outskirts of Arequipa, we finally caved and bought a bag of coca leaves to try later with Jorge. We continued onward and gained elevation into the Andean dessert region with vicuñas grazing in the vast open spaces along the side of the road. After a couple hours, we stopped at a roadside cafe/tourist trap and drank some very delicious mates with seven different herbs (and spices) including coca, muña, lemongrass, and a cherry tomato.

Andean desert

Vicuñas can drive 55

How to make the Misti mate

Got the Andean desert blues

The drive continued up to the high pass at 4,910 meters (about 16,000 feet). We determined now was a good time to try chewing those coca leaves. Spoiler alert! We’re not huge fans. Unless you want a numb tongue… then they’re great! Not even that sweet coca buzz was gonna keep Jo from falling back asleep for a good portion of the remaining drive. To be fair, Froiland’s musical preference was some serious easy-listening, put-you-to-sleep music.

A real high point of the drive

Lunar Landscape

After traversing the pass and several more volcanoes, the final portion of the drive descended into Colca Valley toward the city of Chivay. We stopped at the town square and Jorge pointed us in the direction of a shop that sells legit 100% baby alpaca products. With a few soles still burning a hole in our pockets, we tried hard to find something, but no luck… for now.

Hey Hey Chivay

Caylloma Province Bicentennial was June 21, 2025

From Chivay, it was only another 15-20 minutes to our final destination for the day — Las Casitas: A Belmond Hotel. Upon arriving via the narrow switchback gravel driveway, we said farewell to Jorge and our driver (until Saturday), and were whisked off to the reception building via a golf cart that travelled maaaaybe 30 feet. Lol. This place is definitely our vacation from our vacation.

The hotel is called Las Casitas because each room is actually your own little house, complete with a fireplace, porch, plunge pool, and an entire bathroom wing. On the way to our Casita, we passed the pond where you can feed the fish, the pond where you can go fishing, and several grazing llamas and alpacas. We were shown about our new house and had the rest of the afternoon to relax with the complimentary minibar (again!).

La Casita

Vacation from vacation

The backyard

Taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon, Matt immediately dozed off for a nap. It’s June, so the locals act like they are freezing, but at 3600 meters with clear skies, napping in the midday sunshine is glorious. Meanwhile, Jo continued exploring the grounds — including the spa/pool, the working vegetable garden, and some walking trails that offered great views of the Rio Colca heading east into the Canyon. Later on, we both continued relaxing on the patio with our monoculars bird-watching. Very excited to unlock this new level of vacationing.

Rio Colca

By 6PM, the sun had set, so we grabbed our house flashlight and made our way up to the restaurant. Prior to dinner there was a complimentary “cooking class” for guests, which was really just a salad preparation demonstration by Chef Mario. But that’s ok. Chef Mario constructed two incredible salads (wielding tongs with the precision of Mr. Miyagi) featuring fresh ingredients from the Las Casitas vegetable garden Jo was exploring earlier.

The first salad was lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes, as well as the herbs and a super delicious creamy lime dressing. The second salad was grilled eggplant and zucchini with a golden berry honey dressing. Both were amazing and we got the ingredient list to make the dressings at home. When Mario was done with the demonstration, we asked him what he recommended for dinner. He suggested the flame-broiled orange and pumpkin salad as a starter, and the slow-roasted braised lamb for the main course.

Super Mario salads

At dinner, Matt made sure to order those two dishes. Mario was spot-on. Both were great. Jo got trout and pineapple tartare in quinoa waffle cones (amazing) and rococo relleno (a traditional meat dish stuffed in a rococo pepper). It was so tasty and the right amount of spicy. We somehow managed to save room for dessert. Jo got the chocolate lava cake (obviously) and Matt once again asked for Mario’s recommendation. It was the carrot cake, and Mario proceeded to go three-for-three.

After dinner, we strolled back to our casita and quickly went to bed. Tomorrow’s adventure is horseback riding!

Hot-water bladder Alpacas if you are cold