Orient-Express Hotels announced today that its luxury 20 room lodge in Peru’s Colca Canyon will open on 15th April 2008. The eagerly awaited Las Casitas del Colca will offer an enchanting retreat, giving visitors a rare and special opportunity to experience the beauty and tranquillity of the Andes.
Guests will be accommodated in 19 individual casitas and one suite, all sensitively designed to meld with their environment using natural, local materials. The floors of the casitas and terraces are made from Laja stone sourced from the nearby Arequipa region. Each casita has a private heated plunge pool on the outside terrace, WIFI internet access, under-floor heating and an indoor seating area with a working open fireplace. Bathrooms are reached through a dressing room and are truly luxurious with double basins and both indoor and outdoor showers, allowing the real 'back to nature' experience. Each bathroom also features a glass ceiling, allowing guests to lie back in the bathtub and gaze up at the stars in the night sky.
Las Casitas del Colca is located in the Colca Canyon in Southern Peru, 160 km (100 miles) north of Arequipa. At 3,267m (10,725ft) deep, the Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States and runs a distance of over 100 kilometres. The Colca Canyon is reached by a three hour drive from Arequipa passing through a National Nature Reserve and the alpaca inhabited foothills of the Chachani, Pichu Picchu and El Misti volcanoes.
Las Casitas del Colca is situated on a 24 hectare estate strewn with cactus and fruit trees, watered by natural springs. The estate has an extensive vegetable garden and prickly pear orchard, where produce is grown for the kitchens and where guests can personally select salad leaves or vegetables to accompany their evening meal. The farm houses a small number of animals including horses, baby alpacas, cows, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and trout. Baby alpacas are bottle fed three times during the day and guests are encouraged to participate in this task.
The Spa Samay at Las Casitas del Colca offers sweeping views of the Colca valley, and takes its name, meaning ‘rest’, from the ancient Inca language, Quecha. Situated adjacent to the free form swimming pool, the spa will feature a sauna, two single treatment rooms, one double treatment room and a treatment suite complete with a soaking tub. A range of treatments inspired by the Andean culture will be offered, using indigenous products from the Colca Valley and the highlands of Peru.
Located nearby is the Mission of Sister Antonia. Sister Antonia, a member of the Order of the Maryknoll, has lived in Peru for 53 years and worked with the Yanque community for over 36 years. The mission operates a soup kitchen in the marketplace of the nearby village of Yanque from 5am every morning, providing 600 breakfasts a day to anyone in need. The mission is run purely on donations from tourists and anonymous benefactors and Las Casitas del Colca aims to assist Sister Antonia in her work. Volunteer work can be organised for any guest wishing to be involved in the mission’s activities.
Las Casitas del Colca will employ strict environmental standards to protect the precious ecosystem of the Colca Canyon. Organic refuse will be used as compost for the vegetable garden and farm and waste water will be sent to a treatment plant to ensure that any water released into the environment is 100% clean. Laundry water will pass through a separate treatment to remove traces of detergent.
