One of the most popular tourist attraction of present-day Peru is the Colca Canyon, a 70 km long gorge that is cut in the mountains by the Colca River.

To the west of Chivay the canyon deepens and reaches a maximum depth of almost 3200 meters at Huambo, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

 

Despite its remoteness,Colca Canyon was inhabited well before the Incas arrived in the early 14th century.

Agriculture was and is still done on terraces on the steep mountain slopes.

 

The Spaniards forcefully relocated the locals to a number of assigned villages that exists still today. Culture, like the river itself, runs deep here.

 

Colca Canyon has long been extremely difficult to reach, but nowadays there is a mostly paved road from Arequipa to Chivay. That road is a treat in itself as it winds through the high mountains and, just before the descend to Chivay, tops at an altitude of a whopping 4910 meters.

 

Of course the 150.000 visitors per year come mainly to see the Andean Condors at Cruz del Condor, but the whole area is very scenic. Chivay is a nice little town and its surroundings provide impressive views of the cultivated terraces. The unpaved road from Chivay to the condor observatory unfolds fantastic vistas of the Canyon.

 

We experienced the mighty condors and the fantastic Colca Canyon in September 2010.