Colca Canyon; or, know your camelids!

From Arequipa we took a two day trip to the beautiful region of Colca Canyon. For many years, Colca was believed to be the deepest canyon in the world at over 3,269 meters (over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon). But recently it has been discovered that neighboring Cotahuasi Canyon is deeper, at 3,500 meters.

On the trip, we saw some more amazing scenery.







In this photo you can see extensive terracing that dates back centuries. You can also see Karen, who dates back three decades.





A stunningly beautiful sunrise over the mountains:



High up on the mountainsides are numerous graves from various eras. The graverobbers throughout the centuries took all the valuable stuff, but left the skulls and bones behind.



On the way, there is the reserve zone for vicuñas. Vicuñas are one of four of the camelid varieties in South America. All four - llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos - provide very soft fiber for clothing and textiles. While there are millions of llamas and alpacas in South America (mostly in the Andean nations), there are probably less than 200,000 each of vicuñas and guanacos.

Here´s a vicuña mother with child:



And here´s a cheeky alpaca at the roadside restaurant:





And another cute alpaca at a rustic looking hotel:



One of the highlights of a trip to the canyon is seeing the majestic Andean condor. There is one site where many gather to float gently on the warm updrafts. The condor is probably the largest flying bird in the world, with a wingspan going upwards of 3 meters or possibly more. Seeing them in flight is a majestic sight.