The world's deepest canyon

Take a journey into the deepest canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon. Nestled in the south west of Peru, 5 hours out of Arequipa the canyon is associated with jaw-dropping scenery and famed as the home of the mighty condors.

At its deepest point, the Colca Canyon is 4,160m double that of the Grand Canyon and over 70km long. Wind whips down the valley, blue skies roll out before you and the zig-zagging trails up the mountains pay tribute to the Quechan and Inca tribes who reigned supreme.

And if all of that's not enough, Mismi mountain, at an impressive 5,597m high not only acts as one of the canyons guardians but is argued as THE source of the Amazon river!

Sherpa and I took a two day tour to the Colca Canyon - but if you can, spend 4 days or more. It's jam packed with highlights:

Face to face with sweet little vicunas
Get high at 4900m to be surrounded by volcanos: Ampato, Sabancaya, Hualca Hualca, Mismi and the Cordillera de Chila
Watch the sunrise over the Colca Canyon from bed
Witness the endangered condors fly in all their glory
Mountain bike through the valley
Chill out in the thermal springs

Take a peek at our piccies:

Looking away from the canyon towards Chivay

A *please don't push me off the cliff* hug. Love win the Andeans (terraces) in the background

Imagine the erosion going on here - in fact, the land is sinking 10cm every year

Chilly! In the distance is Mismi, source of The Amazon

A room with a view - perfect for watching the sunrise over the Colca Canyon

Super-volcano territory

The Arequipa region is surrounded by 104 volcanos and as such is known as the Fire Valley. Wait a minute, what the bejeezus is a super volcano? 10km across with multiple 'small' volcanoes sitting on it's rim just waiting to go crazy...thank goodness it's extinct. The highest peak is over 6,400m and as you'll see there's a certain member of this dangerous group that puffs away all day.

Our tour took us through petrified lava fields, past active volcanoes where a national park has been setup for Vicunas - a rare species similar to Llamas but cuter, more timid and with fur worth US$500 per kg - and finally to a viewpoint at 4,900m where the full force of this active landscape could be felt.

Finally Sherpa aka. The Giant is made to look small

Starry nights

Bloody Sherpa and his quest for the hidden galaxy. Night after night he braves the cold to gaze at the stars. One would think he’s trying to communicate with some higher being. Luckily for him the Colca Canyon is pretty remote so stars are aplenty. It would be nice if he'd not disturb me when getting back into bed!

Smoke from our log fire escapes into the night

Home of the condors

Condors, from the vulture family are one of the world's mightiest birds. They scavenge rather than hunt and gracefully ride the thermal winds only using their wings to control a landing. Their 3m wing span makes them a sight to behold and we were lucky enough to witness many of these majestic creatures well before other photo-hungry tourists showed up.

Unless stopping Condors don't flap their wings, instead relying on thermal currents

Note: None of the above 4 'species' are Condors. Not even Lisa doing her best impression!

Oh, and the nearby valleys are full of llamas and alpacas running amok. We finally learnt that the colour pom-poms and ribbons these fine and furry animals wear are for ownership identification. I don't think Lisa understood this when she bought a pom-pom hairband :)