Arequipa and the far south: taking your time

Four levels of altitude

Above 3,000 metres, the CDC recommends not increasing your sleeping altitude by more than 500 metres per night and planning acclimatisation days. The Arequipa–Colca–Puno route breaks this rule at one point: between Arequipa (about 2,335 m) and Chivay (about 3,600 m), the sleeping altitude gains about 1,300 metres in one day, after a pass close to 5,000 metres. Starting with Arequipa helps, but does not guarantee acclimatisation in Chivay: keep an effortless evening, a margin in the programme, and the option of going back down or turning back if symptoms appear. In the other direction, from the Sacred Valley then Cusco and Puno, the progression is more even, and you go back down towards Chivay. See altitude.

Distances: Arequipa–Chivay 151 km; Chivay–Cruz del Cóndor 45 km; Cruz del Cóndor–Cabanaconde 12 km; Chivay–Puno 273 km; Arequipa–Puno 273 km; Puno–Sillustani 33 km; Puno–Cusco 387 km; Arequipa–Moquegua 221 km; Moquegua–Ilo 74 km; Moquegua–Tacna 160 km.

Colca

The Colca is an inhabited valley before it is a canyon. Upstream from Chivay, above 3,500 metres, people raise llamas and alpacas; downstream, the valley is covered with agricultural terraces farmed continuously since pre-Inca times by the Collaguas, who spoke Aymara, and the Cabanas, who spoke Quechua. The present-day villages (Chivay, Yanque, Coporaque, Maca, Pinchollo, Cabanaconde) were grouped together by the Spanish in the 1570s, each around its church. Further down, the river cuts deeper: the canyon reaches a depth of about 3,270 metres, making it one of the deepest in the world.

Two ways to experience it.

Cabanaconde is at about 3,300 m; to the Sangalle oasis, about 6 km for some 1,050 m of descent, from 3,300 m to about 2,250 m. The climb back up, often done very early to avoid the heat, is the hardest part. Ask before you set off whether there is a way of getting back up if you are tired (a mule, for example) and at what price.

The condors. The Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint, near the deepest part of the canyon, is the best observation point, in the morning, when the birds make the most of the warm air currents. No serious programme can guarantee they will be there.

The ticket. Entry to the valley is subject to a tourist ticket sold by the Colca autonomous authority (AUTOCOLCA): S/ 70, checked at the entrance to Chivay.

Puno and Titicaca

Puno for its own sake. Puno is not just a port of embarkation. It is the capital of Peruvian folklore: the festival of the Virgen de la Candelaria, in February, brings together for several weeks thousands of dancers and musicians from the region’s Quechua and Aymara communities; it also changes how you get around and book (see festivals and calendar). Outside the festival, allow half a day for the town, its cathedral and the lakefront, and taste the fried trout from the lake, served with potatoes, rice and salad.

Sillustani, 33 km to the north, deserves half a day: on the shore of Lake Umayo stand chullpas, funerary towers where the Qolla and then Inca elites placed their dead. Some were left unfinished, with the ramp that was used to raise the blocks, which helps you understand how they were built.

The lake and its islands. Titicaca, at about 3,810 m, is the largest lake in South America, shared between Peru and Bolivia. Three very different visits:

The classic “Uros and Taquile” day combines the two. A night on Amantaní, arranged in advance, lets you slow down; bring a small, useful gift (fruit, food, school supplies rather than sweets) and warm clothes. The FDFA recommends great caution in Puno and its surroundings because of strikes and blockades: check the situation before setting off, and never try to get through a roadblock.

With or without the lake: two routes compared

Count each transfer as a day: the altiplano roads cross high passes, and you often arrive tired. The Cusco–Puno train is a daytime tourist train that does not run every day: check its timetable.

When the altitude means turning back

If the symptoms persist or get worse in the Colca or in Puno, the only measure that really works is to go back down. In practice: from Chivay, back to Arequipa the same day; from Puno, Juliaca airport lets you get to Lima. Keep changeable bookings on this part of the trip, and a spare day. Breathlessness at rest, confusion or difficulty walking require urgent medical help.

Moquegua

Moquegua, at about 1,400 metres in an irrigated desert valley, is the only valley in Peru that preserves both Wari and Tiwanaku sites. The most spectacular is Cerro Baúl, a flat-topped mountain whose summit, some 600 metres above the valley, carried a Wari outpost: D-shaped temples, elite residences, and the remains of a chicha brewery where banquets were held. The Chiribaya culture later developed in the valley and on the coast, between about the year 1000 and 1360.

In town, PROMPERÚ highlights the Plaza Mayor and its old houses (Casa de la Flor, Casa Chocano), the Santo Domingo cathedral and the church of Santa Catalina de Alejandría. The valley produces pisco and wine; on the food side, patasca moqueguana, a tripe and corn soup, is among the specialities. A day is enough for the town and Cerro Baúl, as long as you go up early, before the heat.

Tacna

Tacna, about 35 km from the Chilean border, has a strong patriotic identity: it was here that Francisco Antonio de Zela launched a first uprising for independence in 1811, and the city was occupied and administered by Chile from 1880 to 1929, before returning to Peru under the Treaty of Lima, while Arica remained Chilean. The monuments and street names keep that memory alive.

What to see according to PROMPERÚ: the Paseo Cívico and its cathedral, the railway museum devoted to the Tacna–Arica line, built in the middle of the 19th century, the Miculla archaeological complex and its petroglyphs (about 26 km from the city), and the Ite wetland for birdwatching. Give Tacna a proper day, with a lunch, rather than a wait between two buses.

To Chile. The crossing is made by road to Arica. The FDFA points out that when crossing a land border you must report to the immigration office to have your exit recorded, and that an incorrectly recorded entry can prevent you from leaving the country. Check the entry rules for Chile for your nationality. Do not count on the Tacna–Arica train without checking that it is running on your dates.

Ilo

Ilo is a port, formerly the territory of the Chiribaya culture, then olive country in colonial times, once linked to Moquegua by a railway. People come for a walk along the seafront, a fish meal and the nearby beaches presented by PROMPERÚ. It is an extension for those with time and a specific wish to see the coast: it does not need to be imposed on every first trip, and combines naturally with Moquegua (74 km).