| The Condor Soars, Cañon del Colca, Peru. Trip Report |
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| The Condor Soars, Cañon del Colca, Peru.   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Caylloma, Peru, South America Date Climbed/Hiked: Feb 28, 2007 Activities: Hiking Season: Winter | Page By: HIGH EXPEDITIONS Created/Edited: Jul 23, 2008 / Jul 23, 2008 Object ID: 424020 Hits: 280 Loading... Page Score: 85.12% - 2 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
From Chile to Peru After our returning from La Paz, Bolivia; Jana (Czech) and I took a bus to Arica, Chile. Spent a couple of days there, enjoying of its nice warm beaches and relaxing after our long journey through Peru and Bolivia.
Two days later we rode north on a bus , crossed the Chilean-Peruvian border and got to Arequipa (2,380 m/7,740 ft), Peru's second largest city after Lima. We stayed for a day and night there, hanging out in the city and admiring the huge prescence of volcán Misti (5,822 m/19,100 ft) in the distance.CabanacondeWe left Arequipa early in the morning, and rode on a bus to the Colca valley.
Got to the small village of Chivay located 160 km/100 miles northwest of Arequipa. Then we switched to another bus which took us to Cabanaconde, located at the top of the colorful Andean valley of Colca and inhabitated by the collaguas and the cabanas. We found a small inexpensive hostal where we spent the night at. Cruz del CondorThe following day, we took the nine o'clock bus and rode up to Cruz del Condor, a popular touristic stop for seesight the Andean Condor and located at the highest point of the Colca Canyon, which is more than twice deep than the Grand Canyon in the US. We could see the Colca river at the very bottom of the canyon (1,200 m/3,960 ft from the rim of the canyon) and the snow-capped extinct nevado Ampato (6,288 m/20,630 ft) to the southeast.
Jana and I waited for about an hour until we could see the first condor flying a few meters away from us. It was just amazing, to see the condor flying at a very close range through the canyon walls, imponent and elegant. To watch them was an unforgettable experience.
Back to Arequipa
After taking a few shots, Jana and I went back to Cabanaconde and did a short hike down to the canyon floor. Walked a bit aside the cultivated Pre-Inca stepped terraces and then took the latest afternoon bus back to Arequipa. The road on our way back to Arequipa was partially covered by snow which increased a bit as we gained altitude through the high Andean passes. Got to Arequipa by night, a long day for us. Some InformationAccess: From Arequipa (about three hours by bus or van). Tours can be arranged in Arequipa as well.
Attractions: The main activity in the Colca Canyon is to see the condors soar gracefully on the rising thermals occurring as the air warms. It is recommendable being at the mirador early to see the condors in flight. Condors hunt in the morning or late afternoon so this is the best time to have a few shots of them.
Depth: The depth of the canyon is 1,200 m/3,960 ft meassured from the rim to the canyon's floor. Images
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