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The Colca Valley
The Colca Valley has been known by different names: The Lost Valley of the Incas, The Valley of Wonders, The Valley of Fire and The Territory of the Condor. It has even been called one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World."
Entering the -so called- 'Valley of the Volcanoes" means going back several geological eras to witness some outstanding phenomena that only happen in two places in the world: the Canary Islands and In the Arequipa valley.
Geothermal activity In this area has given birth to about 80 volcanoes, all of them extinct which give this area a moonlike aspect. Later, the Andagua river runs under ground for about 10.5 between the Chachas and the Mamacocho lagoons before flowing into the Colca. Because of the volcanic nature of the region, there is hot springs in different areas of the valley. The main ones are Yunque, Chivay, Callalli, La Calera, Huancarama, Yura and Jesus. Furthermore, these hot springs are frequently related to 'puquiales", natural sources of cold, extremely pure and 100% potable water. The La Calera hot springs at Chivay is a wonderful way to relax after a day's touring. There you can see the Toro Muerto cemetery of the Wari Indians. The final resting place of these Indians, buried in a fetal position, is built in a 90° steep cliff face.
The Colca river begins high in the Andes, at Condorama Crucero Alto, drops down to the Pacific in stages, changing its name to Majes and then Camana as it goes. Where it runs between the tiny mountain villages of Chivay to Cabanaconde is a deep canyon known as the Colca Canyon.
This canyon is reportedly the deepest in the world, thought to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. Unlike most of the Grand Canyon, portions of the Colca canyon are habitable, with pre-Colombian terraced fields still supporting agriculture and human life.
There are almost 20 towns along the valley, which people preserve the ethnic richness of their past more than any other region of the country. The main ones are Chivay, Cabanaconde, Huambo, Maca, Achoma, Yunque, Larl and Coporaque, all very religious towns, whose Catholic faith also keeps alive pre-Columbian elements. Each town has its own church, bearer of its Hispanic and an example of architectural sobriety and purity based on the ashlar stone. An ethnic group, bearer of ancient and still strong traditions, has dwelled the valley for more than 2,000 years. They are the Collaguas who arrived to the Colca valley from the high regions and seem to be descendants of the Aymaras because of their language and customs. Even under the Inca dominion, they kept themselves relatively Independent, and preserved their own traditions. It is said that the supreme Inca Mayta Capac married a Collagua princess in order to formalize the conquest of the valley, and he built for her an elegant country house made of copper, near Sibayo.
The river and valley were well-known to the Incas and their predecessors, and the Spaniards laid out townships along the valley, no doubt planning to use Rio Colca valley as the route to Cuzco and other Andean locations. They built churches along the way, notably the one at Coporaque, but for some reason, the towns never grew and the route faded from outside memory.
 CRUZ DEL
CONDOR
Usually, in such a deep valley, the rising winds are surprisingly strong which big condors take advantage of to soar into the sky easily.Between Maca and Cabanaconde, where winds are even stronger, is the Cruz del Condor, an observation point, perfect for watching the condors while they fly majestically.
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