Main Info
Overview and Highlights
Peru may be known for its spectacular historical ruins, but visitors would be remiss to overlook its equally impressive natural attractions. Get off the beaten track on this trip to the Apurimac Canyon, known for its large population of condors. Drive through the Peruvian countryside to a spectacular lookout point over the mountains before heading on an easy 1.5-hour hike to a condor viewing platform. This tour includes lunch and round-trip transfer from Cusco. The Andean sky is the favorite scenery of one of the most impressive animals in the world: the Peruvian condor. This bird, the largest outside the aquatic world, is endemic to the entire Andean area of South America and in Peru you can see it flying in landscapes as beautiful as the Mirador de Chonta. Although there are many known and touristic viewpoints in the Andean area of our country, this time we want to highlight the Chonta, because it is a destination where you can enjoy the flight of the condor with the greatest tranquility.
INCLUDED:
- Professional Bilingual English-speaking tour guide
- Pre-Departure Briefing at your hotel 1 or 2 days before your trek.
- Pick up from your hotel and transportation from Cusco to Chonta Village
- Return transportation to your Cusco hotel.
- Box Lunch
- Emergency oxygen bottle and medical kit.
- Fee for condor viewpoint
- Vegetarian and Free gluten options available
NOT INCLUDED:
- Food and drinks
- Tips – Gratuities
- Travel Insurance
WHAT TO BRING AND ADVICES:
- It is really advisable and important that you arrive to Cusco at least 2 days prior the trek, in order to acclimatize to the altitude.
- Just in case, you can take personal medication for altitude sickness, you will find locally some drugstores at the main street Av El Sol or near to the main square of Cusco.
- Please make sure to inform us about your health/food/physical restrictions in advance so we can prepare them for you.
- In case you need to pay the remaining balance, it is advisable to take some cash. You can get some money from the ATM machines that are located in the center of the City of Cusco.
- Be always ready for rain and cold, take some rain poncho water proof clothes and warm clothes. Proper hiking boots.
- Insect repellent, some mosquitos are really annoyed specially at lower altitude, you will probably visit Machupicchu so this advice is for You.
- Original Passport is very important to enter to Machupicchu
- Extra money is advisable just in case to buy souvenirs or in case of emergency.
- Covid vaccination certificates required.
- Camera and Memory cards (recommended)
- Rechargeable batteries and adapters (recommended)
- Small towel and swim wear
- Hiking boots, walking shoes (with ankle protectors, recommended)
- Sun block
- Sunglasses
- Flashlight (head light recommended).
- Travel insurance (highly recommended)
Itinerary
Download BrochureWe start with pickup at your hotel at 5:00 am, then we drive northwest of the city. We will be passing through a beautiful flatland that provides dairy products to Cusco. Then we will arrive at a place where we take a road known only by the locals. On the way we pass through beautiful villages like Schuro and Pampahuaylla. Small villages that are far away from the main road, we´ll see grazing sheep, cattle and llamas. After 2-hour in our private transport we will reach a pass called Huacra Ccasa “Step of the Horn”. A hill that looked from a distance appears to be the horns of a bull, this site is very panoramic. From the top we can see the majestic Salkantay and the surrounding mountains that seem to be the Titans of the Andes, then a zigzagging road leads downhill up to a picturesque village called Chonta. From here we will walk for 1.5-hour, the road follows foothills of a mountain, gentle uphill and downhill paths and mostly flat, once close to the viewpoint of the condors we have to walk downhill by a narrow path, to reach the canyon of Apurimac “the highest canyon in the world”. Arriving at the viewpoint of condors, a platform equipped with rocks, which was made by the inhabitants of Chonta, serves to rest and wait patiently for the Cusco condors that soars up from the bottom to the mountains, some of them will turn. They will come and go, while others will cross into the Apurimac region. We will have our box lunch enjoying the majestic soar of the condors. We return to Chonta by the same path. Once we arrive, we will take our private transport which will bring us back to Cusco arriving in the city at around 6pm.
Meals: Bos Lunch.
Night: Not included
ACTIVITY LEVEL: moderate
WALKING DISTANCE: 03 km / 1.864 mi
WALKING TIME: 3 hours
MINIMUM ELEVATION: 3,380m / 11,087 ft
MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 3,399m / 11,151 ft
