The first and most obvious is duration. Tours tend to range from two days, one night, to four days, three nights, with the most common being three days two nights.
Secondly, transportation. Some tour companies use local buses to get you to, around and back from Colca. This type of transportation can be absolutely fine, but without guaranteed seating, unscheduled stops and basic vehicles, local buses can be uncomfortable on a journey that lasts between 5 and 6 hours.
Tourist buses are the more common option offered. These buses are shared by the tour agencies and you will be traveling with groups of people who have booked through different agencies. These buses are direct, they collect you from your hostel (many tours depart at 3 am) and are comfortable with guaranteed seats.
Private transportation varies, but usually include mini buses, 4x4 vehicles or a combination of the two. Although the most comfortable, tours which make use of private vehicles are usually by far the most expensive, though they tend to include extra stops, activities and a higher standard of accommodation.
The third main difference is, of course, price and content. Sounds obvious, but similarly priced tours can differ in important ways, and a more expensive tour does not guarantee a better experience. Duration and transport are obvious price factors, but the amount of trekking and the type of accommodation involved, are just as important. Some tours make use of home stay in local villages. These home stays are often a trip highlight, and are highly recommended for an authentic flavour alone. Hot water, electricity and basic but private sleeping are usual for those with worried imaginations. Other tours use only hostels, or basic huts like those at the Sangalle oasis. Most use a mix, some include camping. Trekking varies in duration and difficulty, from short hikes to full day marathons, and with more expensive tours you may cover more ground, but it won't always be under your own steam.
Do It YourselfYou could do it yourself. Regular local buses leave Arequipa for Colca. As mentioned, many tour agencies make use of them to ship tourists to and from the canyon. Try Andalucia or La Reyna. Chivay is the hub. Tickets should cost no more than S15 one way, but you will need to pay a little extra to continue to the Cruz Del Condor (S2) and from there on to Cabanaconde (S1). Remember to purchase your Colca entry ticket at Chivay (S35). The following trek is easy to find and follow.
Leave the bus just before Cabanaconde, ask for the trail head at Mirador de Tapay. descend the canyon along a fairly steep series of switch backs, and take the bridge across the Colca river to the North bank. A quick, steep ascent (the only path) brings you to San Juan de Chuccho, (3-4 hours) where there are several places to eat and sleep cheaply. Try Casa de Rebelino, where bed & meal will cost S17-20.
An alternative is to trek on after lunch following the path steeply uphill and West past Tapay, Malata and on to Cosnirhua (where you can home stay, including meals for S17, look for spray painted or small hanging 'Restaurant' or 'hostel' signs). A good recommendation for food and lodging is with Mama Rafina, who you can probably track down by name, or look for her shop along the path with 'Restaurant, Hospedaje y Camping' painted haphazardly on the wall in white, punctuated by an ancient Coke sign. Rooms are basic with dirt floors but private and secure, with comfortable beds, steaming hot showers and flushing toilets just outside. From there, a number of Westerly trails lead to Sangalle oasis along the Rio Colca.
You can stay in basic bamboo huts in Sangalle for S10. Basic breakfast costs about S5, and lunch and dinner S10-15. Variety is limited.
Leave the Oasis early morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst of the heat. The climb is tough. An excellent time is 2 hours, an average time 3 hours 30 mins. Its 1,200 vertical metres via 2,200 metres of challenging switchbacks, so time it right – it gets pitch black and freezing once the sun sets. Sticks really help, basic split canes at the Oasis cost S5. If you're worn out and fretting, you can hire a mule and handler to carry you for S40, but you must arrange it at the Oasis, so decide in advance. Don't feel sheepish, lots of people struggle with the ascent, and riding a mule up the precipitous, crumbling cliff paths is an experience in itself.
From the top, Cabanaconde is a short (15 mins) fairly flat walk. There are numerous accommodation options, and a double room plus dinner shouldn't cost more than S40. Remember a torch if you trek the late afternoon. The path to Cabanaconde is uneven and skirts maize fields, and the last thing you need with jelly legs is an irate farmer with a bigger stick than yours.
For the terminally short of time or cash, you could go directly to Cabanaconde, via the Cruz Del Condor, have lunch, hike down to the Sangalle oasis, have dinner, stay over night, breakfast, then hike out that afternoon. With local buses, entrance fee and bed and meals, the whole trip should cost no more than S80.
Water is essential. You should carry a minimum of 2 litres for the ascent alone, and anticipate drinking 3 litres daily. Remember, most organised tours don't provide water. Within the canyon, water can cost S8-10 for 500ml from local hawkers, so you'll have to swallow it. Twice. But if you look for the little shops in villages like that in Cosnirhua, Mama Rafina will sell you 2.5 litres for S7, and the same will only cost you S10 in San Juan De Chuccho.
You're unlikely to get lost, because this is one of the better and more common routes, and there is always someone to ask, but a good map wouldn't go a miss. Having said all that, you really don't save a great deal of money doing it this way, but more importantly, you miss everything that a good guide adds to the experience which can make or at least thoroughly enhance the tour. You can hire a guide in Chivay, but a good agency uses tourism educated guides who speak your language, and again, the savings really don't add up.
