Photo Sets » Arequipa - Colca Canyon, Peru 2003
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We arrive in Arequipa at 7am after 33 hours of bus rides from the Peru/Ecuador border. We are tired, but we luck out with the hotel room with the best view in town - $10 (Room #20). You'll see random pictures from our room interspersed everywhere in this collection of photos! After a few days of relaxing and spending time in the beautiful town plaza, we travel to Colca Canyon, a canyon reported to be the second deepest in the World (deeper than the Grand Canyon). To get there we must go over a pass (in a van) that is 4600M high. We almost pass out when we open the doors of the van for a picture. Along the way we see hundreds of Alpaca, Llama, and the elusive Vicuñas. Colca Canyon is mis-marketed by travel agents as a natural wonder, but the real beauty is found in the patchwork of pre-Inca terraces that are still used to provide the residents of this valley with a fruitful (literally) life. The landscapes are amazing. An incredible sight on the second day is sitting with hundreds of tourists to see the great Andean Condors ride the upwelling winds produced by the deepest part of the canyon. We find ourselves back in Arequipa for a few days of religious processions complete with crying women, military bands, and a multi-ton crucifix. We leave halfway through Easter week for Cuzco...
We arrive in Arequipa at 7am after 33 hours of bus rides from the Peru/Ecuador border. We are tired, but we luck out with the hotel room with the best view in town - $10 (Room #20). You'll see random pictures from our room interspersed everywhere in this collection of photos! After a few days of relaxing and spending time in the beautiful town plaza, we travel to Colca Canyon, a canyon reported to be the second deepest in the World (deeper than the Grand Canyon). To get there we must go over a pass (in a van) that is 4600M high. We almost pass out when we open the doors of the van for a picture. Along the way we see hundreds of Alpaca, Llama, and the elusive Vicuñas. Colca Canyon is mis-marketed by travel agents as a natural wonder, but the real beauty is found in the patchwork of pre-Inca terraces that are still used to provide the residents of this valley with a fruitful (literally) life. The landscapes are amazing. An incredible sight on the second day is sitting with hundreds of tourists to see the great Andean Condors ride the upwelling winds produced by the deepest part of the canyon. We find ourselves back in Arequipa for a few days of religious processions complete with crying women, military bands, and a multi-ton crucifix. We leave halfway through Easter week for Cuzco...
