Friday, June 26, 2009

ABOUT THE COLCA CANYON

The Colca Canyon is an amazing geological formation created by erosion from the Colca River over thousands of years in which the abrasive affect of the water that flows through the mountains carved the rock and gradually turned into one of the deepest natural canyons on the planet.

Canyon
The Colca Canyon is located in the north-eastern side of Arequipa, about 4 hours north of the city of Arequipa. This canyon reaches depths of 4160 meters and is more than 120 kilometers long.

In 2005 an expedition led by the Polish researcher Andrew Pietowski performed several measurements using modern high-precision devices, including a "Global Positioning System” (GPS), obtaining accurate data on the height of this natural wonder. And it was on the 24th of August, 2005, in the city of Arequipa, during a press conference, that they revealed that in the district of Huambo the profundity of the Colca Canyon reached 4160m on the north side and 3600 m on the south side. This makes the Colca Canyon the deepest Canyon in the world and approximately twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

The conquest of rio colca -
Deepest Part of The Canyon - Canco at 4160m.
Photo from "The Conquest of Rio Colca, The Worlds Deepest Canyon" by Jerzy "Yurek" Majcherczyk.


Known popularly as "The Kingdom of the Condor" and designated as the "Valley of Marvels" by the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, this natural tourist attraction was recognized as one of the seven wonders of Peru, through a nationwide internet vote organized by the Peruvian newspaper “El Comercio” in 2008 and is currently applying to be chosen as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The stunning scenery, history, biodiversity and culture that surrounds the valley of the Colca Canyon makes it a major tourist resort.

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The Colca River originates in the Andes, in the high Condorama Cruise and descends to the town of Chivay located at 3600m where the famous canyon starts. Passing through the old river town of Maca, the flow of the river increases dramatically and spills into the depth of the valley. It is here that the Colca Canyon actually starts, reaching a greater depth at the Cruz del Condor viewpoint. It then flows down about 40 km and converges with the river Andamayo, marking the end of the canyon and the beginning of the Majes valley before flowing into the Pacific Ocean it becomes the river Camana. Thus the river is given three different names as it passes through these different territories, Colca, in the hills; Majes in the middle, and Camana in the coastal desert.

This canyon is part of the Volcanic chain of the western Andes, where there are spectacular views of the combination of mountains and volcanoes, such as Hualca Hualca, Ampato and Sabancaya that is still active.

AmpatoSabancaya
Ampato and Sabancaya

Volcan Ampato
Ampato and Sabancaya

The valley that goes by the same name as the canyon begins in the surroundings of Chivay, the main town of the area, continuing in a north-westerly direction for more than 60km to the area known as La Cruz del Condor in the town of Cabanaconde.

This valley is an area with a large diversity of flora and fauna and one of the most amazing cultural landscapes of America due to the presence of terraced fields. Throughout the valley you can see interesting landscapes and animals native to the area such as condors, llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicunas and chinchillas.

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon

It is said that in this region two ethnic groups have managed to live since ancient times: The Collaguas and Cabanas. They managed to dominate the nature of the region and its complex geography by developing terraced fields through an admirable farming system that are still in use and amaze everyone lucky enough to see them.

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Currently in this area, there are 16 villages who are descendants of the Collaguas and Cabanas, who have inherited a rich cultural tradition. These districts are: Sibayo, Callalli, Tuti, Canocota (Annex of Chivay), Chivay, Coporaque, Yanque, Ichupampa, Achoma, Lari, Maca, Madrigal, Cabanaconde, Pinchollo (Annex of Cabanaconde), Tapay and Huambo.

8.000 hectares of pre-Inca irrigated terraced fields built more than 1.400 years ago and thanks to the fertility of the land in this region remain to this day allowing for the sowing and harvesting of many varied products such as potatoes, 32 varieties of corn, 12 varieties of beans and 54 of quinua.

Colca Valley
Terraced Fields

In the villages of the Colca Valley you can see some of the most beautiful and ancient churches in the country, adorned with murals and valuable paintings from the colonial era. Some churches were built on the arrival of the Spanish and have Renaissance style influence of the era. Others however are characterized by the Baroque style between the years 1640 and 1700. The most astonishing churches of the the Colca Valley are in Lari, Yanque, Cabanaconde and Sibayo. Many of the houses in the valley are still built of stone with thatched roofs of “ichu” which is a type of straw that grows in the hills of the canyon. Women in communities usually wear traditional dress: long skirts and jackets with colorful embroidery and hats with ribbons.

church

Inhabitants of the Colca Valley

The Colca Canyon is synonymous with biodiversity, with a flora composed of about 300 species used for medicinal reasons, as fuel, in dyeing, and nutritious grasses for domesticated and wild animals. Wildlife is just as varied as the flora, including 32 species of mammals, 5 of carnivores like the puma, more than 130 species of birds, reptiles and rodents, but some of these species are in danger of becoming extinct according to the ministry of agriculture, and conservation projects and activities are urgently needed.

Vicuña

Vizcacha 01

The weather in the Colca Valley is typical of the high Andean zones, dry and mild, with temperatures generally cold, especially in winter time from June to September where they drop below zero at night and during the day it is sunny with temperatures of between 15-20 ° C. During the rainy season, from late November until March, there are no sudden changes in temperature which ranges between 5 ° and 10 ° C.

The Colca area is exceptionally good for adventure sports such as trekking, rafting, climbing, mountain biking, camping, and hiking, among others. To go down to the river and canyon, there are some trails favourable for walking that are connected to some of the small villages that exist along the canyon like Tapay, Cosñirhua, Malata.

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A trip or tour to the Colca Canyon is extremely interesting, with a minimum recommended time to visit of 2 or 3 days. Visiting is recommended not only because of the beautiful landscape but also because it presents evidence of the dominance of ancient Peruvians agriculture, beautiful snow-capped mountains, inactive volcanoes, impressive terraces of pre-Inca origin and an imposing canyon of dangerous beauty worthy of the title of World's Natural Wonder.

The conquest of rio colca -
Photo from "The Conquest of Rio Colca, The Worlds Deepest Canyon" by Jerzy "Yurek" Majcherczyk.

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