THE COLCA CANYON

The Colca Canyon lies northeast of Peru's second city, Arequipa. After the Cotahuasi Canyon, Colca is thought to be the deepest in the world. If you stretched a tape from the tip of the highest nearby volcano all the way to the river at the canyon's deepest point, it would measure over four kilometres. Even from the canyon's cliff edge, it's still over a kilometre (three-quarters of a mile) deep. Remarkably, and contrary to what one might think, the Colca Canyon wasn't gouged out by the eroding river. It is in fact a rift between two mighty geological plates.

The canyon was cultivated and inhabited well before the Incas expanded their empire. Along the wider sections of the Colca River, the ancient terracing is so intense the valley becomes a giant amphitheatre.

Colca's largest town is Chivay. Travelling west from there, the valley shrinks remorselessly, its walls growing higher and higher, the river running deeper and deeper.

The valley is beautiful, particularly in March towards the end of the rainy season when I first visited. Wild flowers burst into colour everywhere one looked, the fields were tinged with yellows, purples, lilacs and every hue of green.

Possibly the greatest attraction of the canyon are the condors. It's become world-famous as one of the best spots to observe these huge, but nevertheless monstrous-looking birds. They boast the largest wing-span of any flying bird. From tip to tip, they can span over three metres (nearly ten feet). Here in the canyon, one spot is renowned for providing the best viewing opportunities.

In the early morning, the condors rise up from their nests below, wheeling and coiling upwards on the thermals until at last they break free of the canyon's grasp and glide off in search of food (which local tour operators make sure is available...). It's a wondrous sight, and an amazing opportunity to be within touching distance of these monsters of the air. On the day I visited, a concert of eight condors rewarded our hour's bumpy bus ride from Chivay, the jumping-off town for tours to the canyon.

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