Valley of the Volcanoes

Partway along the Arequipa–Cotahuasi Canyon route, the road branches off for Andagua, a small village at the head of the Valley of the Volcanoes. The small valley, sandwiched between Colca [1] and Cotahuasi [2] and only 65 kilometers long, is a seemingly endless lava field, lorded over by the snow-capped Coropuna and Escribano and punctuated by more than 80 perfect volcanic cones.

In the middle of it all is a lake and the gentle Río Andagua, which runs underground through much of the valley. Few people travel here, and those who trek along this valley need to carry a tremendous amount of water.

Near the village of Ayo, a few days’ trek away from Andagua, the valley leads to Lago Mamacocha. There is also an adventurous five-day route, which retraces the 1929 route of Shippee and Johnson and passes through Chacas to Cabanaconde [3] in Colca Canyon. Andagua-bound buses leave several times a week from Arequipa [4]’s bus station.

For those with a four-wheel-drive vehicle, a fascinating circuit connects Cotahuasi [2] and Andagua and then heads to the Colca Canyon [1] via Cailloma. Except in Chivay [5], there is probably no gasoline along this route and not even the best maps are completely accurate, but the scenery is legendary.