Simply enter your details in the enquiry form to start personalising your experience or if you have any questions about booking this tour.
See condors in Peru from the comfort of a beautiful, remote family-run mountain lodge. This exclusive condor viewing experience is only a few hours away from Cusco, but the pristine setting and quiet isolation will make you feel worlds away.
If you’re wondering where to see condors in Peru, you definitely don’t have to travel all the way to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon! You can see condors in Cusco. Two-day and three-day excursions are available to this stunning remote but beautifully equipped lodge. Built high in the mountains of the Apurimac Canyon, the Condor Lodge is a stunning home-away-from-home, comfortably furnished with hot water and electricity.
Activities on this Condor Viewing trek include horseback riding, nature walks, condor viewing and more. Please note: due to their wild and unpredictable nature, we cannot guarantee that every tour will include condor sightings.
Condor viewing is a great addition to the 4-day Choquequirao trek!
Run by Javier Alfaro and his parents Celia and Carlos, the Condor Lodge is an absolute gem tucked away in the Apurimac valley. Despite its remoteness, the Condor Lodge is beautifully built and furnished, with comfortable beds, two complete baths, gas-heated hot water in the sinks and showers, and a common sitting area with books and even a telescope for night-sky gazing. The full Condor Lodge property spans an impressive 500 hectares, where the family also raises cattle and keeps horses. There is truly no better place to see condors in Cusco!
Getting to and from the Condor Lodge involves walking and riding horses along mountain trails. The Condor Lodge’s horses are very well trained, with a calm disposition, and know the routes very well. You do not need to have any previous horseback riding experience to make this journey. The team of horses is also always led by one or two experienced local horsemen. However, the journey can also be completed entirely on foot if you are uncomfortable or nervous about riding horses on mountain trails.
High quality personalized experience
Unique, off-the-beaten track routes
Experienced staff
Verified sustainability practices
$20 of every trek donated to Threads of Peru
When calculating the cost of renting equipment, calculated using the length of the entire trip, not just the number of trekking days. Even though you won’t use the equipment on the final day it will still be ‘on the road’ and unavailable for others to use.
Please be careful with rented equipment! You are responsible for the cost of replacement if something is damaged or broken.
Cusco can experience every season in a single day, so you should be prepared for sun and rain, cold and hot weather! We recommend a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, sweater, rain gear or plastic poncho, winter hat or toque and gloves. In addition, you should bring:
You can also see What To Bring for our comprehensive recommendations on what to pack for a trek in the Andes. For more great suggestions, check out our blog about How to Prepare for a Trek in Peru.
No discounts available for this condor viewing excursion.
Our whole trekking team know the region like the back of their hand! They are some of the warmest, endearing and wonderful people you are ever likely to meet.
Our guides are all licensed and receive regular training. They share their experience, professionalism, knowledge and enthusiasm with our passengers on every trek.
Get to know our team!
Want to join a trek? Ready to confirm a departure date of your own, but interested in having others join you? Then Trekkers Wanted is for you! Our innovative Trekkers Wanted system matches people up who are interested in hiking the same trek, bringing costs down and multiplying the fun for everyone!
Read More about Trekkers Wanted, post your trek or search for confirmed departures!
Your condor viewing Cusco day trip begins with an 8am pick-up from your hotel. We begin the long journey in the direction of Abancay, stopping at a local restaurant near Curahuasi along the way for an early lunch (around 11am).
Continuing on by car, we reach the spot where we meet the horses at around 1pm. The horsemen will be there waiting for us to see condors in Peru. We travel by horseback for about two hours across the top of soaring mountains, reaching an altitude of about 3800m. After riding through fields of Andean pampa across several mountain ridges, we will disembark our horses and continue the rest of the way on foot.
The hiking trail zig zags down the mountain through fields and forest, and across grassy plains where free range cows happily graze. We hike downhill for about 2h until we reach the Condor Lodge (2800m / 9186 ft) at about 5pm. The owners of the Condor Lodge will show you to your rooms inside their beautifully decorated guest house, and then you will be invited to have tea or coffee in the dining room, where you can rest and regenerate.
After tea, walk around the Condor Lodge grounds, take a nap, read or lounge in the outdoor hammocks until dinner time. The Condor Lodge family will prepare a delicious home cooked meal for you in the late evening, around 8pm.
Following dinner, we have a chance to gaze at the stars, enjoying their full, awe-inspiring splendor in the absence of any light pollution. Then it’s lights out in preparation for an early start tomorrow morning.
Today is the day we (hopefully!) see condors in Peru! After what is sure to be a very restful sleep, we rise early and enjoy breakfast in the dining room around 7am. We will then set out from the Condor Lodge and hike for about 30 minutes up to the canyon ridge to the prime condor viewing spot (3000m / 9843 ft). Condors are on their own schedule, so we cannot guarantee a sighting. We will stay for 2-3 hours while we relax in nature, and hope to see condors. More often than not, we are treated to views of their majestic soaring through the deep Apurimac canyon, sometimes even coming very close to where we are! Even if the condors choose not to make an appearance, we will have plenty of other opportunities to see Andean wildlife, from hawks and falcons to Andean flickers, deer and more.
After spending the morning hoping to see condors in Cusco, taking photographs of the stunning vistas or just relaxing in nature, we return to the Condor Lodge. We will walk about 30 minutes back to the Lodge via a different route, where we may be able to observe some small archaeological remains, and also have our last chance to see condors. Arriving back at the Condor Lodge, our hosts will prepare lunch, around 1pm.
If you have chosen the 2D/1N option, the tour ends after lunch.
After packing everything up, we walk for about 45 min to 1 hour down to the canyon floor, crossing the Apurimac river on foot. We then mount our horses and continue the journey on horseback, riding back up the canyon walls for about 30 minutes until we reach the small village of Antilla. Our private vehicle will meet us here for the return trip to Cusco. Leaving Antilla at around 3pm, we should arrive back in Cusco around 7 or 8pm.
If you have chosen the 3D/2N option:
We have free time in the afternoon to take some short hikes in the area, visit an Incan burial site, relax in the outdoor hammocks, or play with the local farm animals.
After the evening meal, we have another chance to observe the stars or even tell stories around a roaring bonfire.
We have another free morning this morning to soak up this pristine natural environment or return to the observatory lookout for another chance to see condors, and appreciate these majestic creatures.
After lunch, we begin the journey back to Cusco. We will pack everything up and then begin to hike down to the very bottom of the Apurimac Canyon, walking downhill for about 45 minutes to an hour. Arriving at the Apurimac river, we will cross the river on foot over a log bridge. On the other side, we will mount our horses and continue the journey on horseback. It’s a steep uphill ride (approx. 30 minutes) until we reach the town of Antilla. The views down the Apurimac canyon are stunning, framed on either side by huge agave plants.
Our private vehicle will meet us in Antilla for the return trip to Cusco. You can buy some snacks or drinks at the local store before heading out at around 3pm. We retrace much of the journey we took on Day 1, over dirt and paved roads, and should arrive back in Cusco at around 7 or 8pm.
Optional Extra on the 3-day Condor Viewing Trek:
We have the option to stop at the Conoq hot springs for a brief dip on the way back to Cusco. If you are interested in this option, please let your Condor Lodge hosts know so that we can start the journey back earlier, allowing enough time to spend at the Conoq hot springs.
We were your first group to stay at Condor Lodge. […]
The web description didn’t describe how great it was – in particular the feeling of being a guest of a family and not just staying in a commercial venture. It was a very special experience. Celia and Carlos were wonderful hosts, and Javier an excellent “guide” for want of a better word.
It was one of the highlights of our trip.
We would thoroughly recommend [the Condor Lodge] as an add on to all interested parties.
