Peru, Arequipa, Colca Canyon 4d/3n alternative Circuit

Description:
Beautiful 4 days / three nights trek in and around the Colca Canyon near Arequipa in Peru, starting and ending in Cabanaconde. This trek is for the most part an alternative route to the classic tourist circuit in the canyon, with stunning views, a bath in hot springs as well as swimming pools and is less crowded than the other side of the canyon.
The trek is technically very easy but has a lot of climbs and descents.
The trek can be done in three days / two nights, if you walk on to Fure at the first day.

The trek:
First day - The trek starts in Cabanaconde. Do not miss to go to the Cruz de Condor in the morning for watching Condors fly by very close. Its stunning! There is a bus at 6.30 (often a little late) from Cabanaconde to Arequipa, which you can take to the Cruz (2 Soles). At about 9.40 there is a bus going in the other direction passing by the Cruz which you can take back to Cabanaconde.
Go past the Reyna office from the main plaza, turn left the second block and walk till you get to a small bullring. Left of the bullring, there are graffitis indicating the way to Llahuar. From here its pretty obvious. Pass by a mirador from where you can see almost the whole trek and descent into the canyon.
A short time after you cross the second bridge (waypoint) be careful to take a left when the street splits to get to LLahuar, you will get into a very small village after 5 minutes from where LLahuar is not far any more.

Second day - Go the path up in the village until you reach Llatica. Go down to the bridge and take an immediate left(waypoint). There are graffitis indicating the way, sprayed over with a "NO". Ignore the "NO". From here its almost only up till you reach Fure. We had bad weather that day and did not go to the closeby waterfall. There and back should be about 2hrs, you can leave the backpacks in Fure.

Third day:
From Fure to Malata it is pretty straigt forward. Go the way you came back for some metres and at the junction walk straight instead of going down from where you came. There is a nice mirador from where you can see down into both sides of the canyon (waypoint). Once on the street follow it to Malata (waypoint). Buy water here and then go down to Sangalle. The paths goes by the main plaza. Every hostel in Sangalle has a pool, very welcoming if the day was hot!

Fourth day:
From Sangalle it is a steep climb up back to Cabanaconde (about 3hrs). We took the Reyna bus at 14.00 back to Arequipa. If the last days were sunny its recommend to start early, there is very little shade on the trail.

Climate:
We had everything from a little bit of rain to bright sunlight. If the sun is full out is gets quite hot, bring sunscreen and enough water.

Fees/Permits:
A 70 Soles Tourist Ticket needs to be purchased and was controlled at various points.

Where to stay & eat:
We stayed in Lodges along the way. Prices range between 10 to 20 Soles per person. In high season reservations might be necessary in the more busy places (LLahuar & Sangalle). Camping is possible, the lodges usually provide some camping space. The lodges offer basic meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at around 10 Soles. Beers (0,6l) are about 10 Soles.

Equipment:
No special equipment needed. If sleeping in the lodges you are provided with enough blankets, sleeping bags are not necessary.

Dangers & Annoyances:
The maps of the canyon are very inaccurate (and every map is a little different) and show only a fraction of the actual trails. They are good to get a general overview but are not reliable as to distances or some junctions. The times indicated on the maps are genrally quite accurate though. Despite the quite high entrance to the park the trails are not very well marked, we needed to ask for the way on some occasions.
Water in Sangalle is very expensive (2,5l at 15 Soles).
If not acclimatized to height yet, calculate some extra time.