Walking Along the Colca
I was awoken the next morning at 4:45 am by someone yelling
outside the hostel…I figured it was some local yelling at a stubborn burro or
lost chicken, dismissed it and went back to sleep. A couple hours later, it was
time to rise for real and get breakfast. The rom had been reasonable; though
rustic, it was better than sleeping in a tent, and the bathroom despite its
lack of hot water was still a lot better than a hole dug in the ground. We
wished for an electric light, but changed our minds about that the next night.
This day’s hike promised to be relatively easy. Though we
would follow the river, we would be above it…first climbing moderately to pass
through a pair of villages (Cosnirhua and Malata) before descending, again at a
mostly moderate grade, to the final crossing of the Colca river and on the
Oasis of Sangalle, located in a broad bowl at the river’s edge. Sangalle,
somewhat famed as a resort, would be our destination for the day, and the place
from where we would launch the ascent of the canyon wall on the last day.
The glaciers in the background belong to the Cordillera Chila. Not one peak in this range is less than 18,000 feet high.
This was scenically the best day of the hike and we hiked
across the canyon’s north side, down a slot canyon, over a stream crossing via
a rickety bridge (if you were brave like Sykvia…chickens like me just hopped
the stream) and then along a road that become a narrow mule path with
outstanding views. The north side is the more inhabited, but higher up it is
wild and rugged…there is only one sketchy dirt road plowed through the hillside
as far as Tapay, above Cosnirhua. Looming above these tiny havens is rough,
uninhabited country…the white capped peaks of the Cordillera Chilla and the
otherworldly landscape of the Valley of the Volcanos. Almost unsettled,
sparsely travels and not connected by any major roads, these area are formidable
wilderness challenges not lightly undertaken even by a guided hiker. While
staying in San Jaun de Chuccha, we met a French hiker who spoke little English,
travelling alone, on his way to the falls of Fure some three days hike further
along. Our guide expressed dismay that he was attempting this daunting route by
himself; we have no idea to this day what became of him.
If you think the bridges in your hometown could use maintenance, try this one!
Speaking of lost adventurers…while resting in a small market
we met another pair of French hikers who arrived breathless from a climb out of
the valley and told a strange tale. It was they whose yelling had awoken me in
the early morning hours. Apparently, they had gotten lost and the sun had set
on them before they could find their way to safety. They spent a cold night in the open by the
river’s edge, and had come in towards the lights of the village as soon as it
was light enough for them to walk. They had called the police in desperation, but
had been told there was nothing the police could do for them; they would have
to wait until morning. By the time we crossed paths with them, they had
effectively self-rescued. It was reminder that in the remote areas of Peru,
there is virtually no possibility of evacuation, unless you pay for a horse to
do so. The helicopter isn’t coming, so if you want to do trekking here, be
prepared to walk yourself back out to safety. We left the French couple in the
center of the village, waiting for the police to come back from patrol, and
continued on.
Past the villages of Cosnirhua and Malata along the only
dirt road in the region, down which a bus winds its way once per day. Then via
a narrow burro track down along an arid plateau that appears to be extinct
farmland; here, we stopped at a trailside market run by a friendly local man
who assured us he was “popular with the French girls.” I assured him in return
I was popular with at least one Peruvian girl, most of the time anyway. After
the market the trail turned steep again and we descended to the final crossing
of the Colca; here, we got our first glimpse of Sangalle, the tourist oasis
where virtually every visitor to Colca Canyon eventually ends up. The only
caveat is, you must walk to it…and you must walk out again, too. No easy thing,
this.
Before Sangalle though we had to pass yet another suspension
bridge and this one was five or six times higher than the first…a spectacular,
if unnerving vista from which to observe the canyon. After this it is a short
hike uphill to the Oasis, which looks more like a spring break resort than the
wilderness hiking mecca. Blue swimming pools and tiki bars proliferate here, as
mostly tired hikers pile in at the end of each day to lounge by the pool, enjoy
Mojitos and beer served by shockingly rude bartenders (it’s a long hike to the
next saloon) and in general relax and enjoy before leaving the next morning.
The majority of hikers are college age Europeans who do this as a two day trek;
for these, the Oasis is their first nights destination.
Here we spent some time talking to a couple from, shockingly
enough, Durham NC. And another couple who we kept seeing at every stop on the tour,
these two being from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. They had apparently been
on vacation for months, hiking around the world and had done world class treks
in Bolivia, Patagonia, Spain and Africa before coming to Peru.
Accommodations here were rustic, maybe slightly better than
Roy’s or maybe not, depending on how you looked at it. There was running water
and showers but bathrooms were shared, and while each hut had an electric
light, what it lacked was a wall capable of keeping the insects out (picture
the hut Gilligan and the Skipper shared and you’ll get the general idea.) We
slept, or tried to, with moths attempting to land on us all night. And at least
three times during the night, the entire canyon exploded with the barking of
scores of dogs, two of which decided to bed down right outside our door. I
would mark this the less comfortable of the two nights, and we also faced a
very early ‘alpine start’ the next morning to beat the heat of the canyon wall.
NEXT UP: The (3500 foot) Wall
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