Cotahuasi Canyon

By Ricardo Segreda

The deepest canyon in the world at 3,535 meters (12,000 feet), the Cotahuasi Canyon is on the rise as a tourist magnet, attracting adventurers the world.  This abysses and ravines within provides passage for the Cotahuasi River, which begins at the 17,960 foot (5,474 meter) peak of Cerro Supramarca and offers some of the world’s best Class 5 whitewater rafting and kayaking. The same area also offers excellent mountain biking and climbing opportunities.

Cotahuasi itself is also home to the Solimama and Coropuna volcanoes, the latter, at 6,425 meters the highest in Peru, and the Sipia, a 150 meter  (492 feet) high waterfall.  One will also discover hanging bridges and historical ruins (including Aymaran mummies), and the remains of such previous civilizations as the Waris and the Incas.

A twelve-hour bus ride north from Arequipa, the way there you will pass Umahuarco, the legendary "place of execution," where the Incas bound their prisoners, Prometheus-like, to precipices and make them available as living prey for hungry condors. One can still see the sun-bleached skeletons of their victims.

The river descends from the Andes and flows 221 miles (356 kilometers) to the coast. Along the way you also encounter the locals, whose culture and language has changed little over the years due to their limited contact with the outside world. Then there the Cotahuasi's glaciers, lakes, medicinal hot springs, and it's rare flora and even rarer fauna, such as the exotic Taruca deer.

The Cotahuasi Canyon was by Peru as a National Tourist Reserve in 1988.

Traveler Reviews of Cotahuasi Canyon

it's indeed a great place

Rating: 100%

what I loved about this place is the nature, and the calm of this views.
And what I really liked is the hotel where I stayed too. It's called "Hotel Vallehermoso" (www.hotelvallehermoso.com) there I had great typical meals and I felt just like home with the calid service I was offered

By V!VA User from Canada, Aug 29, 2007

Adventure in Cotahuasi Canyon

Rating: 100%

Beautiful canyon and mountains, friendly people, hot springs and great trekking in an unspoiled setting.

By Vic Hanson from California, USA, Jul 31, 2007