Colca Canyon

One of the top attractions in the Arequipa area is the Colca Canyon. Once thought to be the deepest canyon in the world, that honour was found to belong to the neighbouring Cotahuasi Canyon instead. It's still twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, though!

Our tour was a two-day one. We left at 8.30am on the first day in a minibus with our guide and other like-minded gringos (the usual mix of Scandanavian, British, American and Japanese tourists - no Dutch or Swiss, for a change!). The road goes through the Aguada Blanca vicuna reserve. Time is running out now, so I'll have to enthuse about vicunas some other time, but it was great fun spotting them!

The road wound up to an altitude of 4,900m, past more vicuna, alpacas and llamas, as well as, obscurely, a flock of flamingoes.

Time's up! More later...