A canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon is a already a big attraction, but there's another draw. This is maybe one of the only places in the world where yo can get eye to eye with the largest flying bird in the world, the Andean Condor, a bird with a 10-12ft wingspan! If you look closely in the photo above, there's a condor flying in the left side level with the people who've gathered. More on that later.
We visited the canyon three times. We first stopped around sunset on our way to our hotel. It was a lovely way to experience this place. All the tour buses had left for the day, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The light was really magical and the birds very active. Journey even spotted an Andean Tinamou skittering thru the vegetation and a viscacha on the rocks. And I spotted a condor!
Colca Canyon is nearly 14,000ft deep, compare that to the Grand Canyon at 6,000ft! This one is much narrower than the Grand Canyon though, so much so, it's hard to actually see the river at the bottom.
Mourning Sierra Finch (left) Hooded Siskin (right) Viscacha (below)
Time to head to our hotel in Cabanaconde.
That night at dinner, the owner told us it's important to arrive early at the Canyon to see the condors. They roost there at night and by late morning, they leave for the day in search of food. But he also said not to miss the view from Mirador de Achachihua. So we decided to go there first thing in the morning.
You park at a bullfighting ring and hike the rest of the way along a path bordering farm land and pastures. At one point we came across a cow that seemed a bit defensive, but we were able to make a wide path and get beyond it.
The view really was amazing. We had it all to ourselves, almost. Stationed about 10 yards from the viewpoint was a ticket agent checking to make sure people had paid for access. We didn't realize this was a restricted area. The ticket included access to the main canyon site we were headed to anyway, so we purchased it from her. *No one ever asked for our ticket at the main site.
On the trail back, we passed some sheep following their master.
We spent longer here than we anticipated, and now I wasn't sure there'd be any condors left at the main viewpoint. It was a totally different experience this time. We arrived to see a couple hundred people, vendors and even people in condor costumes! Of course I had to get a photo with one. Condors are big, but not human-sized!
It turns out we were not too late, and saw a few condors still flying near the visitor areas. This is when I took the first photo above. We walked down to it and the birds flew over our heads!
The typical overnight tour involves challenging downhill trek to Oasis, the little village in the valley pictured here. The next morning's hike is a strenuous one, climbing back up to the starting point.
Glaciers can be seen pouring down the far side of the canyon.
There are multiple hiking options here. We hiked along the canyon's edge to multiple viewpoints and our friend picked us up at a designated spot at the end.
See my family on the trail on the right in this photo.
A few minutes down the road is another viewpoint. We stopped to admire the steppes and the farmland. A farmer was plowing his fields with cows below.
No comments:
Post a Comment