Cabanaconde
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Cabanaconde, at 3,287 meters elevation and 65 kilometers west of Chivay, is the last of the five villages strung out along the southern edge of the Colca Canyon. The road doesn’t end here, but it does become rougher and heads away from the canyon, which becomes much deeper and more serpentine. (Buses do, however, travel the 12 hours to Arequipa along this road.)
Cabanaconde is a great place to stay because it is quiet, has a few inexpensive hostels, and is only 15 minutes from La Cruz del Cóndor and adventure activities. The town’s church, San Pedro Alcántara, was rebuilt after a 1784 earthquake and has sun, moon, and stars carved onto its imposing front.
Accommodations
One of the town’s better known accommodations is Valle del Fuego (Grau and Bolívar, one block from the plaza, tel. 054/83-0032, valledelfuego [at] hotmail [dot] com, US$5 s, US$10 d), which is basic and clean. The owner, Pablo Junco, is a great source of information, and he also operates the recommended Pablo Tours agency (Luzuriaga 501, tel. 043/42-1145, pablotours [at] terra [dot] com [dot] pe, www.pablotours.com). The worthwhile hotel restaurant is Rancho del Colca.
The other place is La Posada del Conde (San Pedro and Bolognesi, tel. 054/44-0197, pdelconde [at] yahoo [dot] com, US$17 s, US$22 d), with private bathrooms.
The nicest and most upscale place to stay is Kuntur Wassi (Cruz Blanca s/n, tel. 054/81-2166, www.kunturwassi.com, US$8 dorm, US$27 s, US$37 d with breakfast). This friendly, well-run hotel is one block uphill from the plaza and has adobe-and-stone rooms. The nice bathtubs feel great after a long walk out of the canyon. The restaurant is open 7 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.
The best food in Cabanaconde is in hotel restaurants, even at the budget level.
Getting to Cabanaconde
For the six-hour journey from Arequipa, options include Empresa de Transportes Reyna (Chivay tel. 054/53-1014), Turismo Milagros (Chivay tel. 054/53-1115), and Transporte Andalucia (Chivay tel. 054/53-1106). These companies have about four buses daily, most of which leave before noon. For the return trip, contact the same agencies, all of which have offices in the Arequipa bus stations and on Cabanaconde’s main plaza.
© Ross Wehner and Renée del Gaudio from Moon Peru, 3rd Edition
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