The Colca Canyon

The Colca region boasts a dramatic and colourful landscape, sprinkled with charming colonial villages and ancestral terraces where grains such as quinoa and corn are grown. The sixteen villages, inhabited by the descendants of the Collaguas and Cabanas tribes, are renowned for their richly decorated churches and vibrant festivals.

The main towns in the valley are Chivay and Cabanaconde, both on the left bank of the Colca river (the one that attracts more visitors). The former is the main town in the area. It concentrates most of the hotels and services, and has become the typical gateway for travellers adventuring deeper into the Colca. La Calera natural hot springs are located here, and are a wonderful way to relax after a full day of trekking and touring. The latter lies 2 hours from Chivay, and is merely 15km from the mythical Cruz del Cóndor lookout point.

Next to Cabanaconde, some 1,200 m below the rim of the canyon, lies one of the most visited spots in the area, the Cruz del Condor or Condor Crossing lookout. From here you can see the condors soaring gracefully on the rising thermals while spreading their full majestic wingspan of 3.5m. The condors hunt in the early morning and late afternoon, so it is best to be there during those times.

These impressive birds can be seen at fairly close range as they fly through the Colca. The canyon is the natural habitat of the great Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), a species that has seen world-wide effort to preserve it.

June through September, the dry months in the Andes, is best for condor watching. In this period you can see several condors soaring aloft, just over the lookout, before they direct westwards.

Other animals that inhabit the Colca are the kestrel, the peregrine falcon, the alpaca, the vicuña, and the Andean tinamou.

The Colca Canyon is also ideal for Adventure Sports such as mountain biking, trekking, and white water rafting. The Colca River, which starts high in the Andes and changes its name to Majes, and then to Camaná before reaching the Pacific Ocean, is famous for whitewater rafting. Its rapids are widely respected for their degree of difficulty, specially down the stretch between Cabanaconde and Tapay. The Colca can be rafted from May to October and features Class II-IV rapids. Tours set out from Chivay.

The name Colca refers to small holes in the cliffs in the valley and canyon, used in Inca and pre-Inca times to store food, such as potatoes and other andean crops. They were also used as tombs for important people.

With exceprts from Wikipedia and PromPeru.