Cabanaconde - Colca Canyon - Perú

A place in contact with the Nature

How to get to Cabanaconde?

Bus departures to Cabanaconde

HOW TO GET TO CABANACONDE

Due to the covid, the only local bus that is leaving TO Cabanaconde is Andalucia Company.

At 04:00hrs
At 13:00hrs

Or you have other option:
Just behind the bus station on "Javier Perez de Cuellar" street number 107. It is located next to Andres Avelino Caceres avenue.
Here is the "Transporte del Carpio" Company and inside is the "Caminos del Inca" Company.
Caminos del Inca leaves every day from 05:00hrs to 13:00hrs every hour. But it only goes to the Chivay bus station and from there you can take combis that leave every hour to Cabanaconde.
Travel time from Arequipa to Cabanaconde is 3 hours and from Chivay to Cabanaconde is 1-2 hours.
The last combi (Van) leaves from Chivay to Cabanaconde at 14:00 hrs - 15:00hrs.

THIS IS THE INFORMATION IN NORMAL SITUATIONS:


Travelling to Cabanaconde by public bus
In Arequipa there are two bus terminals, the Terminal Terrestre and the Terrapuerto, which are located side by side. They are about 15 to 20 minutes by taxi from the centre of Arequipa. Most buses for Chivay and Cabanaconde leave from the Terminal Terrestre but two departures now leave from the Terrapuerto (confirm when you buy your ticket which terminal the bus will be leaving from).
There are three bus companies which travel between Arequipa and Cabanaconde via Chivay. The names companies :Reyna ,Milagro and Andalucía.

All three Companies have offices in the Terminal Terrestre in Arequipa ( bus station ) , where you can buy tickets.

01:00 am with Reyna (from terminal terrestre)
03:30  am with Milagros (from terminal terrestre)
09:45 am with Andalucía (from terrapuerto)
11:00 am with Reyna (from terminal terrestre)
14:00 pm with Milagros   (from terminal terrestre)

The cost of a ticket to Cabanaconde is 25 soles. You can’t reserve seats by telephone and the only way to be sure of reserving a seat is to buy a ticket the day before your travel.  If you pass by our office in Arequipa the day before travelling, we can buy your ticket for you if you pay one night in La Casa de Santiago in advance but you need to pay the cost of a return trip to the bus station in taxi ( to buy the bus ticket)
Important: when you buy your bus ticket, be sure to choose a seat on the right side of the bus, since the Colca Canyon is on the right side of the road when travelling from Arequipa to Cabanaconde, and you will have better views.
When you arrive to the terminal, you can store your large backpack in the hold of the bus. There are four distinct compartments, one of which is dedicated for luggage going to Cabanaconde and is not opened until the bus reaches Cabanaconde. Make sure that your luggage goes into this compartment.
All buses going to Cabanaconde pass through the town of Chivay. The bus will reach Chivay approximately 3 hours after leaving Arequipa, and will usually stay there for 15 to 20 minutes before continuing. This is an opportunity to go to the bathroom and buy something to eat, but there is a risk that people waiting to travel to the villages between Chivay and Cabanaconde will take your seat. If you get off, it is recommended to leave something on your seat (such as an item of clothing) or if you are travelling with a companion, take turns to get off. If someone does take your seat, you can reclaim it by showing your ticket (people travelling from Arequipa with an assigned seat have priority).

There is another option to travel to Cabanaconde

Tourist minibus From Arequipa to Cabanaconde (shared service)

This tourist bus service offers a pickup from your hotel between 3:00 and 4:00 am. You have to wait in your hotel at an approximate time without knowing exactly when you will be picked up. This bus doesn’t belong to any travel agency but is a service contracted to a third party. No one will accept responsibility for loss of belongings, delays or problems with the departure.

And yes you can buy this service with us.

The minibus service makes two stops on the first day:

  • In Chivay for breakfast
  • At the Cruz del Condor. However, it doesn’t arrive there until around 9:00 am and it only stays there for 30 minutes.
Tourist minibus From Cabanaconde to Arequipa (shared service)

For the return trip to Arequipa, the minibuses leave from the main plaza of Cabanaconde between 9:30 and 10:00 am and arrive in Chivay around 12:30 pm. Since it is a bus for those who offer guided trekking tours, you have to stay with the group. When it arrives to Chivay, the bus heads directly to the hot springs of La Calera, before returning to Chivay for lunch. After lunch, it heads back to Arequipa, arriving at around 6:00 pm.

A negative feature of this service is that the minibuses often don’t have enough space for large backpacks however you can use the passanger cabin to put your suite cases or back packs.

And yes you can buy this service with us.

Departures Cabanaconde – Cruz del Condor – Chivay – Arequipa
All buses leave Cabanaconde from the main plaza. The departures are as follows:
7:00 am Reyna
9:00 am Andalucía
11:30 am Milagros
14:00 Reyna
22:00 Milagros
As with the outward journey, the bus will usually stop for 15 to 20 minutes before continuing to Arequipa.
Seeing the condors: one example of a journey

The day before travelling, buy a ticket to Arequipa on the bus that leaves Cabanaconde around 11:15 am. Get an early bus from Cabanaconde with la Reyna 7:00 am . You will pay 5 soles on the bus to travel to the Cruz del Condor (the bus is usually full and you may have to travel standing to the Cruz, but it is only 15 to 20 minutes). The best time for seeing condors is between 7:00 and 9:00 am. Take plenty of warm clothing, as it can be very cold at the Cruz during the early morning. You can buy food and drink from the vendors at the Cruz. The 11:15 am bus from Cabanaconde should arrive by 11:30 am. Get on and claim the seat listed on your ticket to continue to Arequipa.

You can also see the condors this way and return to Cabanaconde, as there is also a bus travelling from Arequipa to Cabanaconde that passes the Cruz del Condor around 8:00 am (just get on and pay 3 soles to return to Cabanaconde).

Seeing the condors and going to the hot pools in Chivay: another example journey .

Buy a ticket on the bus that leaves Cabanaconde at 2:00 pm (Andalucía). Sorry but this bus not running more , but if you take any local bus from condor cross or from Cabanaconde , they stop in the bus sation of Chivay ,here there are more departure from Chivay to Arequipa.

Remember this example of travel with visit of the hot spring in chivay is not possible because andalucia is not running any more.

This will arrive to Chivay around 4:00 pm. As above, catch an early bus from Cabanaconde to the Cruz del Condor around 6:45 am and see the condors. Get on the bus from Cabanaconde that passes the Cruz around 9:00 am. You will pay 4 soles to continue to Chivay and will have to find an available seat or travel standing. You should arrive in Chivay around 11:30 am. In Chivay you can have lunch and visit the hot pools at La Calera. They are 5 minutes from Chivay by taxi and the entrance fee is 15 soles. There are lockers where you can leave your belongings while you enjoy the hot pools. You can then travel back to the terminal in Chivay and catch the bus that leaves Chivay for Arequipa around 4:00 pm (remember, you bought a ticket in Cabanaconde.

CABANACONDE TO PUNO
Unfortunately there is no bus that goes directly from Cabanaconde to Puno. However the best way to get to Puno is to take one of the first buses out of Cabanaconde, towards Arequipa at 700am, If you like descent in condor cross, see the condor to the next bus 9:30 (andalucia that leave from Cabanaconde 9:00 am) and continue with this bus to Chivay 11:30 am and take the Tourist bus on shared service from Chivay to Puno that leave 13:00 ( yes you can book with us)
You will save one day of travel.

We recomend

TOURIST BUS FROM CHIVAY TO PUNO
There are buses that leave Chivay every day at 13:00 with stops along the way to the bus station of Puno these buses arrive at 19:30. You can buy the bus ticket from  our hotel or from our office in Arequipa city or by internet with us .

 

Colca Canyon & Colca Valley Map