Cotahuasi Canyon — Arequipa Peru

Cotahuasi Canyon in Peru's Arequipa region rivals Colca as the deepest canyon on Earth and surpasses it in remoteness and wildness — a 3,535-metre maximum depth through some of the Andes' most ancient rock, inhabited by fewer than 5,000 people in the entire canyon system and receiving a fraction of Colca's visitors. Condors soar the thermals as at Colca, but the experience is almost entirely unmediated — no viewing platforms or tour buses, just canyon walls and silence. The Cotahuasi River runs continuously through the gorge and is one of South America's premier whitewater kayaking destinations, with continuous Class IV-V rapids through a gorge that narrows to 50 metres in places. Pre-Inca terracing on the canyon walls, still in agricultural use, adds 2,500 years of human persistence in an environment of genuine severity.

When

Apr — Oct, peak May — Sep

Best viewing

A remote, dramatic canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon, where condors soar in silence above churning whitewater and ancient terraced fields — almost entirely without tourist infrastructure.

About this spectacle

Cotahuasi Canyon plunges 3,535 metres at its deepest — deeper than Colca — through ancient Andean rock that took millennia to carve. Visitors arrive to silence: no viewing platforms, no tour buses, just sheer canyon walls falling away to the Cotahuasi River far below. Condors ride the thermals overhead, indifferent to the handful of travellers who make the long journey in. The river itself churns through Class IV-V whitewater, narrowing to 50 metres in places, audible before it is visible. Pre-Inca agricultural terraces still green with crops staircase the canyon walls, the living remnant of 2,500 years of farming in a landscape of genuine severity. The light changes constantly as the sun moves between the high rims, painting the ancient rock in ochre and shadow. With fewer than 5,000 people inhabiting the entire canyon system and a fraction of Colca's visitor numbers, the experience is profoundly unmediated — raw, quiet, and demanding.

When to go

Apr — Oct, peak May — Sep

Getting there

Nearest airport: AQP. Nearest city: Arequipa.

Booking options

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About this spectacle

When to go

Getting there

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