Colca Canyon

The Colca Canyon is twice the size of the Grand Canyon and at 3,200m deep is a huge Valley carving out a mind-blowing chunk of space through some beautiful Peruvian countryside It features some spectacular vantage points such as the Cruz del Condor, which is the perfect place to see Colca's famous birds, gliding the early morning thermals searching for food.

Colcas were piles of stones arranged near the tombs of dead relatives containing provisions for the afterlife; thus naming the canyon. The native peoples here have ancient roots pre-dating the Incan civilization, by whom they were peacefully assimilated and are split between the Collaguas , who are roughly based around Chivay at the east of the canyon and the Cabanas whose women don a riot of colourful garb and who can be seen toward the Cruz Del Condor

Mainly an agricultural region, there are many pre-Incan terraces whose irrigation systems are still used today for crops of potatoes, quinoa, corn, and olluco (a small potato-type thingy Small towns in the valley include Pinchocllo, Madrigal, Lari, Maca, Achoza and Yanque, some of its churches date from colonial days and are well worth a visit.