The Colca Specialist answers

by The Colca Specialist

Why does everybody offers downhill mountainbiking in Chachani volcano?

Thank You Louise for writing.

When you check the different mountain biking options in Arequipa 99% of the travel agencies are going to offer you downhill mountain biking in Chachani volcano.

As I wrote in an article before, travel agencies in Arequipa POOL their clients and most of them are COMMISSIONIST especially those little travel agencies which sell everything where you cannot see not even one bicycle, situation that allows us to realize that they don´t have experience in that sport.

Those travel agencies pool their clients and they send them with a very cheap tour operator who does the tour for everybody. Those tours don´t have professional tour guides and of course you cannot expect much from them and you cannot expect much from the tour either.

Their English is very poor and when you ask for some information about the places you are watching on the way you will be very lucky if you get an explanation. Then you will be taken to the starting point and that will be the last time you see your guide who is going to be awaiting for you on the goal just to tell you that the trip is over. Great!

Downhill Mountain biking is not an activity where we should try to save money by going with a cheap tour operator. If something happens to you be sure that the medical bill in the hospital is going to be REALLY EXPENSIVE , more expensive than the tour!

Riding a poor quality bicycle is not a good idea specially if the breaks or any part of the equipment starts to fail at full speed! Would you use an old parachute for your first jump?

Personally I wouldn’t. So my best advice for you is to check the different options and then to check the following things:

1.-Is the owner a professional mountainbiker or at least a mountainbiker?

2.-Does the travel agency has good equipment for this activity?

3.-Does the travel agency has good references or reports?

4.-Does the guides speak languages fluently? (If I have an accident I need somebody at least to communicate with)

5.-Is the guide a graduated professional tour guide or just an accompaniment? (The difference between both is notorious).

6.-Does the mountainbiking tour guide has references of services done to other clients?

If after a visit to a travel agency and you obtain more negative answers than positive simply

don´t buy the tour in that travel agency. That is simple my friends.

Thank you for writing to the Colca Specialist. Write us your comments and gladly we will publish them in our magazine. Thank you.

The Colca Specialist