Colca Canyon

Located between 200 and 800 m of altitude, and reaching twice the depth of the Large Canyon of Colorado, perforated dug by Rio Colca close to the small locality of Cabanaconde (province of Cailloma) reached 60 km of width and 3400 m of depth.

It is starting from Arequipa that one will find the greatest facilities of excursion towards the canyon, which became one of the high places of tourism of adventure in Peru: the tourist agencies propose transport in microbus, of the raids in VTT as well as courses of rafting (not for the beginners!). Several companies of charter aircrafts, in Arequipa, organize flights above Cayon, which is still the best manner of enjoying an extraordinary prospect on this single curiosity natural, undoubtedly the deepest throat of the world.

By the road, the more convenient means to discover the cayon is to go to Chivay (alt. 3640 m - 148 km of Arequipa, to count 5 H in the minibus). From there, an overland route overhangs left bank of Rio Colca. In this sector, the two slopes, already very rock, carry the mark of a titanic human work and are literally spread out by narrow field terraces which cover a surface of almost 8000 ha.

One crosses the villages of Yanque which has a very beautiful colonial church, Achoma and Maca before arriving at the Rock of Choquetico, gross hones engraved drawn up at the edge of the chasm. After the small village of Pinchollo, one arrives at the view-point of Cruz del Condor (40 km since Chivay) from where one discovers, on a vertiginous cliff (1200 m height), a super sight of the cayon. Early the morning, it is not rare besides to see condors there to fly over it (according to people of the corner but us, there is nothing considering…). The Northern slope which faces, is a gigantic horizontal wall overhanging Rio Colca at an altitude of 3100 m: its snow-covered top is sometimes masked by the clouds.