Mountain Biking down Chachani Volcano
Excerpt from the book Soul Searching in South America, from the Teresa the Traveler series.
Being an avid mountain biker and member of the Kamloops Bike Riding Association, Monique was eager to do some mountain biking in Peru. So when we walked past a tour company offering bike trips down the side of a volcano, she couldn’t resist. We were fully aware of the fact that Puruvian salespeople had a tendency to tell you whatever they thought you wanted to hear in order to close the sale but we still believed the guy when he said we would get mountain bikes with full suspension, all the gear including elbow and knee pads along with a box lunch. He also said the tour went from 9am until 4pm; all for $65 – much more than the other companies charge for the same tour as we later discovered
Being an avid mountain biker and member of the Kamloops Bike Riding Association, Monique was eager to do some mountain biking in Peru. So when we walked past a tour company offering bike trips down the side of a volcano, she couldn’t resist. We were fully aware of the fact that Puruvian salespeople had a tendency to tell you whatever they thought you wanted to hear in order to close the sale but we still believed the guy when he said we would get mountain bikes with full suspension, all the gear including elbow and knee pads along with a box lunch. He also said the tour went from 9am until 4pm; all for $65 – much more than the other companies charge for the same tour as we later discovered
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Two men in a Range Rover with bikes on the roof picked us up at our hostel and drove us up the rocky winding road for 2.5 hours until we reached 4,800 meters up Nevado Chachani - the highest mountain near the city of Arequipa.
As a result of the very low precipitation in the area, Chachani, a popular mountain for climbers, does not have a permanent ice cap or glaciers. Many tour agencies in Arequipa offer guided trips to the 6,075 meter summit, though the altitude is considered highly challenging for those who are not fully acclimatized. Base camp is at approximately 5,200 meters with another higher camp called Camp Azulfrera situated at about 5,400 meters. The standard route requires crampons and an ice axe, but does not require roping up, as there are no large crevasses on Chachani and the average total climb time from base camp ranges from six to nine hours, with a two to four hour descent. From Chachani, we got a fantastic view of El Misti – a stratovolcano also known as Guagua-Putina. Near the inner crater six Inca mummies and rare Inca artifacts were found in 1998 during a month-long excavation. These findings are currently stored at the Museo de Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa. When we arrived at the drop off, we quickly realized that the tour did not in fact come with full riding gear, a box lunch or even proper bikes. No, that’s not true…our guide had a lunch, full safety gear and a bike with full suspension, while our bikes didn’t even have proper braking systems. Mine were standard brakes which I quickly discovered didn’t work. As for safety equipment we were given ill-fitting helmets and gloves. Once we were on our bikes and ready to go, our guide shot off like a bullet and we spent the next hour playing “Where’s Waldo.” The sandy side trails and rocky main road were not easy to navigate and to make matters worse, the brakes on my bike were locked on and my gears would not change. Monique and the guide were way ahead of me and once we got to a hill I had to get off my bike and walk. When the truck caught up to me I got in and we caught up to the guide. By this time I was PMS’ed off. Yes, I got my period that day and my bullshit tolerance was at a record low. I asked the guide where the hell he picked up my crappy bike…the dollar store or was it homemade. |
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I then went on to tell him that for the price we paid, he should ride the crappy bike and I should ride his bike. Monique could sense my anger and before I bitch-slapped our guide and the two of us ended up abandoned on the side of a volcano, she offered to let me ride her bike. I jumped at the opportunity figuring since I was the slow one, Monique and the guide would easily catch once they fixed my bike. Unfortunately that did not happen. I stopped on the shoulder for 15 minutes and they were nowhere in sight. Then I looked across the valley and saw the truck taking a different route down. What the…?
I noticed that the road met up with mine near the bottom of the volcano so I quickly peddled down to meet them. The guide had made the executive decision to have Monique peddle his bike on the pavement behind the truck while they took a short cut to catch up to me.
How insane is that?
Monique could have rode the same path as me and caught up to me much quicker. The driver and guide then drove off and told us to meet them at the next town leaving Monique and I to ride for 30 minutes through garbage dumps and slums in order to catch up to them…not fun. By the time we reached them I was ready to go postal.
To make matters even worse they stopped at the bike rental place to return the bikes before delivering us to our hostel. I can’t believe this tour company did not even own mountain bikes. They just rented cheap ones for the day. Lesson learned – if you mountain bike in Peru, rent your own!
I noticed that the road met up with mine near the bottom of the volcano so I quickly peddled down to meet them. The guide had made the executive decision to have Monique peddle his bike on the pavement behind the truck while they took a short cut to catch up to me.
How insane is that?
Monique could have rode the same path as me and caught up to me much quicker. The driver and guide then drove off and told us to meet them at the next town leaving Monique and I to ride for 30 minutes through garbage dumps and slums in order to catch up to them…not fun. By the time we reached them I was ready to go postal.
To make matters even worse they stopped at the bike rental place to return the bikes before delivering us to our hostel. I can’t believe this tour company did not even own mountain bikes. They just rented cheap ones for the day. Lesson learned – if you mountain bike in Peru, rent your own!
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For tips on visiting Peru CLICK HERE
For tips on visiting South America CLICK HERE
For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE
For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE
For tips on visiting South America CLICK HERE
For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE
For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE
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Where I Stayed...
Flying Dog Hostel 116 Melgar Street Arequipa, Peru Tel: (0051) 54-231163 Single $27US www.flyingdogperu.com flyingdoghostles@gmail.com This former Arequipian mansion has been recently transformed into a top notch hostel complete with bar, kitchen, TV room and a beautiful courtyard around a water fountain. Single and double rooms are available as well as dorm rooms for those on a tighter budget. |
How to Get There - Fly to Arequipa or take the bus from Lima or Cusco
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