Planetarium and Observatory Colca

I loved visiting this observatory. They are super friendly and happy to tell you everything they know. It was a bit cloudy and they did everything so we were still able to see some stars. They offered blankets as we were cold. I can absolutely recommend visiting this place.

What an incredible night we had at the Colca Observatory. It started off quite cloudy with poor visibility and we were advised to wait a while to do our tour by Luis, the guide. During the time that we waited, we got chatting with him and he told us so much about his culture and the history of the observatory as his assistant monitored the weather conditions, and in an hour the skies had cleared and we were able to do the tour. We saw Jupiter, Saturn, and many other stars and constellations with amazing clarity through the telescopes, and all were explained in great detail by our guides. They are such friendly, kind, and knowledgeable people and I strongly encourage anyone spending a night in Chivay to stop by the observatory. Truly a tour that’s out of this world 😉

Very nice and knowledgeable host Edgar. He offered us tea and invited us inside. It was cloudy so we had to wait a little, but we got the tour later. He showed us the planet Saturn, the Moon, different stars and astrological signs (Scorpio, Pegasus, Northern Triangle...). As we still haven't seen everything because of the clouds, he lowered the price to 15 soles per person. Normal price is 25 soles per person. You also have to be careful to go at a right hour, as they offer English and Spanish tours depending of the hour. We were unlucky and arrived on a Spanish tour, but it was interesting, because we were still able to communicate somehow!

I would highly recommend this experience! Luis was so passionate and helped explain everything to me. I saw binary stars and star clusters, 3 different coloured stars, Venus, many constellations - including my own zodiac. He got me blankets to help keep me warm, took some amazing photos with the stars and even walked me part of the way home as I was alone. Very genuine guy, with amazing enthusiasm. I had lots of questions as I was new to stargazing and he was more than happy to answer any question no matter how silly. It’s a very unique and special experience everyone should take advantage of when out in the middle of the Peruvian canyons!

A lifetime experience! The star-guid reads stars like a map, helped with his great equipment. Spoke English very well. Would definitely recommend this place!

It was a super nice experience, which I highly recommend. Although the sky was not completely clear, Edgar managed to show us the moon, many constellations and different types of stars. He was a great host, passionate and very professional: we learnt a lot thanks to his explanations.
Thanks for welcoming us and for such a great memory! :)

We 'accidentally' found this obervatorium, since it was next to our hotel and we happen to see it when we were walking around. We were so lucky! I would recommend anyone visiting Chivay to take the tour. It is about 30 minutes and totally worth it! We had a guide named Louis, who spoke English very well and explained a lot about the stars and the planets. He was very friendly and answered all of our many questions. The view through the telescope was great. We were allowed to hold a meteorite. At the and we got a free beautifull photo of us with the many stars in the background. All in all, a great time and many thanks to Louis.

Amazing experience!!! We were able to see Saturn, moons, Jupiter. The guys are very well experienced.

Wow It was cloudy so we had to wait a little, but we got the tour later. He showed us the planet Saturn, the Moon, different stars

Great guided tour by Luis! Highlight of my Colca Canyon tour. I recommend everybody who stays at Chivay for a night to visit the planetarium.

The planetarium is well worth a visit if you're staying overnight in Chivay. We had a 30min planaterium show of the constellations followed by 30mins looking through the telescopes (up for 250x magnification). Views of Saturn, Jupiter and four of its moons were incredible. The guide was very knowledgeable and happy to answer our questions about the universe. S/30pp

A great place to learn about the night sky thanks to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides. One of them - Luis - spoke excellent English. Highly recommended

Dreamy experience, very kind English speaking staff, to the point explanations. Must do activity when in Chivay!

Fantastic and educational visit with very passionate staff. Loved seeing the planets, nebula and milky way, it was truly amazing. Lasts about an hour

Really incredible! Really nice views from stars and planets with good explanation. Very nice people.

Very nice and friendly Guides! Tea and stars :-) must have in Chivay! Saturn, Moon, ...

Amazing Experience, and good explanation!
Must do if you are in Chivay!

astonishing site for astro lovers.

Very interesting and informative staff well worth a visit

Good place