Colca Canyon

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Peru was to see Colca Canyon.  This is touted as one of the deepest canyons in the world and is home to unique people, wildlife, and beauty.

There are several options for the Colca Canyon tour–I ended up doing a one day tour–with a 3:15am pickup!  From there, we picked up a minibus full and made the trek to the canyon.  We stopped for breakfast around 6am and made it to the canyon entrance within an hour or so.  The ride was another miserably bumpy one with LOTS of winding roads–but the canyon was worth it.

The altitude was no joke–if you ever visit–make sure to take the altitude medicine.  The day included

* breathtaking views:

* spotting a condor:

* seeing an alpaca and vishnu

* drinking a Colca Sour, made of cactus and pisco (it was 5pm somewhere in the world):

* crossing over a wooden/string bridge to take a dip into a natural hot spring:

* and seeing an ACTIVE volcano!

After returning “home” at 6:30pm, I was MORE than exhausted.  But it was a full day indeed!