Peru - Arequipa and the Colca Valley

We arrived early morning in Arequipa after taking the night bus. We stayed in a very nice hostal called ´Las Penguinos,´ just outside down town centre. Arequipa is Peru’s second-largest city and is known as the ´the white city´ due to the buildings being made from an off-white volcanic rock called sillar that dazzles in the sun. The city has lots of grand colonial buildings, with distinctive stonework. The stately Plaza de Armas is the main square, along with countless beautiful colonial churches, monasteries and mansions scattered throughout the city. We visited the famous monastery de Catolina which was like a small village in its own. I was in my eliment taking photographs of the place.






The following morning we got picked up bright and early and headed on a tour to the Colca Valley and the famous Colca canyon. The 100km-long Cañón del Colca is set among high volcanoes (6613m-high Coropuna and 6310m-high Ampato are the tallest) and ranges from 1000m to more than 3000m in depth. The canyon is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. As the drive to the Colca Valley goes over 4200m we were encouraged to chew cocoa leaves to reduce the effects of altitude sickness, we conly found out afterwards that they are actually the same leaves that are used to make cocaine! The drive to the valley was beautiful and the scenery was incredible.








The deep valley and generally sunny weather produce frequent updrafts, especially along the canyon’s southern edge between Maca and Cabanaconde, and soaring condors can often be seen at close range (we only got to see one from a distance though!). The local people are known for their highly decorative traditional clothing. The women’s dresses and jackets are intricately embroidered, and their hats are distinctive. In the Chivay area at the east end of the canyon, the white hats are usually woven from straw and are embellished with lace, sequins and medallions. At the west end of the canyon, the hats are of cotton and are painstakingly embroidered. I thought the material was so beautiful that I brought two pieces of material in beatiful designs. I´m going to have them made into dresses when I get back. We stayed in the capital of the valley Chivay and splashed out and stayed in the Casa Andina - a very expensive hotel, it was well worth it though just for a night. Peru´s scenery is very similar to Ecaudor´s and the traditional costume and cuisine is similar. I wish we had longer to explore.....