Cotahuasi canyon trek, Peru

18 days trekking the Cotahuasi canyon

This expedition explores the wild, remote region of the Andes mountain range around Cotahuasi in southern Peru. Below Cotahuasi the river flows though the deepest canyon in the world. Although the canyon has been run by a handful of extreme rafting / kayaking expeditions there are no records of a group attempting a trek of its entire length; this expedition aims to be the first group to achieve this. This challenging expedition encompasses real adventure with the natural wonders and fascinating ancient history of the region.

We will trek along wild and rocky trials accessible only by foot, encountering spectacular mountain scenery and picturesque hamlets deep in the canyon. We shall visit the world’s largest petroglyph field with mysterious figures carved into the rocks well before Inca times. In Arequipa there are fine colonial buildings, at Luicho we can soak in steaming thermal baths and at 3500m above sea level, we shall visit the ‘Valley of Volcanoes’ with its 80 small inactive cones.

Expedition highlights include:

• Trekking the full length of the world’s deepest canyon, the Cotahuasi.
• Beautiful colonial architecture of the city of Arequipa
• Spectacular altiplano and volcanic scenery on our mini jeep expedition

Traversing the deepest canyon in the world (3354 m), sometimes crossing the river using harnesses on cable crossings and over rustic but sturdy suspension bridges, will take ten days. Trekking through this impressive gorge a lot of time will be spent in unknown isolation with chances to see ancient civilisation, including evidence of past occupations, amphitheatres and the burial sites of the lost city of Marpa.

The headwaters of the River Cotahuasi have their source in the Cordillera de Huanzo, a remote and very rarely visited part of the Peruvian Andes in the extreme north west of the Department of Arequipa, and discharge some 300km later into the Pacific Ocean as the River Ocoña. Although the Cotahuasi region was declared a Zona Reserva Turistica in 1988 very little was known about the area and even less about the canyon until a kayak / raft expedition first ran it in 1994. Subsequent interest and a surveying expedition confirmed the deepest point of the canyon (at Ninochaca just below Quechualla) to have a depth of 3354 m, making it the deepest canyon in the world and 163m deeper than nearby Colca Canyon which was previously thought to hold the record. In pre-Colombian times the canyon was a more travelled route; an Inca road ran through most of the length and many sections still remain, as well as agricultural terracing and ruins. This Inca road may well have been based on routes previously built and used by the Huari culture, an important power in the highlands of central and southern Peru from 600-1000AD.