Last week, I journeyed from Lima to the city of Arequipa, Peru's second largest city. After spending a a few days acclimating to the altitude of about 11,500 feet above sea level, I departed the city at 2:30 am last Sunday for a three hour drive to Colca Canyon, where I visited a quaint and traditional Peruvian village, Condor Crossing (where I watched one of the largest species of condor in flight) and to the base of one on of the few active volcanoes in the world at an altitude of over 16,000 feet!
The canyon itself claims to be either the deepest or 2nd deepest in the world and, according to Rough Guides, "In places the canyon’s sides are so steep that it is impossible to see the valley bottom, while the higher edges of Colca are punctuated with some of the finest examples of pre-Inca terracing in Peru, attributed in the main to the Huari cultural era. Craggy mountains, huge herds of llamas and traditionally dressed Andean peasants complete the picture."
After spending time at Colca Canyon, we headed up a mountain to reach the highest point of the trip, which was a viewpoint of the majestic Mismi Nevado volcano, and the official source of the Amazon River. It's a live volcano so you could actually see smoke bellowing from the crater.
Click here to see more photos from this fascinating excursion to a region of Peru not as well known as other sites like Machu Picchu, but just as gorgeous.
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