Day 8 (16-Dec-15) Corporaque – Colca Canyon – Corporaque

ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG! Donner und Blitzen! Spitfeuer kommen aus die Sonne…. OK perhaps not, but the sudden sight of an Andean Condor flying towards us at speed, with its 2.8m wing span fully outstretched, did make me wonder for a moment whether his stealth approach signaled an interest in one of us as lunch! Thankfully, these magnificent birds, while arguably less regal looking than their close rivals, the Grey Eagle, are quite harmless, as they lack talons and a powerful beak. They thus purely scavenge for carrion – dead horses, alpacas, llamas, Andean deer. However, what they lack in weaponry, they more than make up with sight 4 times more powerful than an eagle, hearing 20 times greater than a dog, and they are also one of the few bird species with a keen sense of smell. As such, they can target distressed or dying animals while gliding effortlessly at altitudes up to 7000m! These specialisations, combined with its massive size (1.2m body length and 12kg weight) has imbued the Condor with legendary status, with no natural enemies, other than man. Its acrobatic skills and exceptional sensory perceptions are considered to be the result of magical powers bestowed on the bird in many Andean pre-Colombian religions.

 

To have any chance of sighting Condors it was necessary to be on the road by 06:00hrs, with a feverish start to the day at 05:15hrs to prepare the many cameras and camcorders, and to shovel down a light breakfast. The visit to Cruz Del Condor had been eagerly anticipated since finalising the Peru itinerary 8 months ago, as was the drive on the way through the world famous Canon del Colca. It’s not just the vastness and depth of this canyon that makes it so special. There are the many scenery changes, both up its flanks and along its 100km passage, from the snow-capped volcanic peaks towering either side, down through the barren Altiplano plateau, then the steep slopes covered in ancient terraces that are among the most extensive in the world, and finally vertical canyon walls that drop down into the Rio Colca. Its impressive size was not fully appreciated until it was thoroughly explored in the 1980’s. It is now recognised as the second-deepest canyon in the world, and twice as deep as the more famous Grand Canyon.

 

On leaving the hotel we retraced our steps to Chivay and then diverted onto the road that nestles the southern rim of the canyon. Our first stop was the village of xxxxxx to visit the Colonial era church. The village was struck by a massive earthquake in 2001 that all but flattened most dwellings, with many still not fully repaired. The church too was badly damaged, but with little evidence of the damage still remaining, and the beautiful interior a stark contrast to the surrounding ramshackle dwellings. We then continued on our way up the canyon to Cruz De Canyon, stopping at various viewing points for obligatory photos of the stunning landscapes, and of course photos of Simon with some of the local inhabitants, both 2-legged and 4-legged.

 

Many tourist sights are much hyped and anticlimatical, but Cruz Del Condor is not one of them. No advance press can truly sell the panoramas that unfold at this place 50km from Chivay, or the sightings of the world’s largest bird gliding effortlessly through the canyon above and below this vantage point. It’s a mesmerizing scene, heightened by the near-vertical 1200m drop to the canyon floor, and the sight of Nevada Sepregina rising 3000m above the canyon floor on the far side of the ravine. We were truly blessed, with our patient stay at Cruz Del Condor rewarded with numerous sightings of Condors, both juveniles and adults. Suffice to say we filled a few SD cards and drained a few battery packs capturing photos and video of their acrobatics.

 

Very satisfied with our efforts, we then continued along the canyon to Cabanaconde, which is scarcely visited by tourists, which is a great shame as the attractions are obvious – less people, more authenticity and greater tranquillity. It is also situated at the most dramatic section of the canyon – the word ‘small’ would not be used in any description of this part of the canyon, from the hanging glaciers at the top to the rushing river at the bottom. It is also the place we chose for a hike down into the canyon. Armed with a packed lunch, and as much water as we could carry, the Three Musketeers, with Christian as our guide, followed the 1000-year-old trial down 1100m to the bridge across the Rio Colca, at the bottom of the canyon at 2405m. Half way down Astrid and Simon stopped for lunch, while I continued to the bottom. I met them on the hike back to the start of the 6km trial, which we completed in exactly four hours. Aching and tired from the exertion and thin air we downed a bottle of beer each to celebrate our achievement, though the joy was short-lived due to a very tragic incident which has no place in this blog. Suffice to say Astrid was left very tearful and I can only hope that events planned for the days ahead will help her to forget.

 

The journey back to the hotel was uneventful; largely because we dozed through most of it. We then spent the next two hours attending to personal hygiene and sifting through the hundreds of photos that we had captured. We were then taken back to Chivay for dinner, which was accompanied by music and dancing by a local troupe – very enjoyable.