Heading to Colca Canyon

Breakfast was at 6am.  It was buffet style and more than adequate to set us up for the day.  It was a shame to be leaving this lovely hotel after such a brief stay.

We were on the road by 6.45am and heading to Colca Canyon, where we hoped to see condors, Peru's national bird, soaring on the morning's thermals.  The scenery on route was beautiful. 

Colca Canyon is the world's second deepest canyon after one in Tibet.  It is 3200 metres deep and offers spectacular views as you drive along its rim.  

We were heading 40 kilometres from Chivay to a point in the canyon where you have the best chance of seeing condors.  The optimum time to see them at this time of year is between 8.15 and 10.15am.  We arrived at 8.30am.  As you would expect at such a tourist attraction, there were lots of ladies selling souvenirs and even some people dressed up as condors!  You could pay to have your picture taken with them.  We didn’t!

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus Vultur.  It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) and weight of 15 kg (33 lb), the Andean condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and is generally considered to be the largest bird of prey in the world.

We had an hour at the viewpoint.  We didn't see loads of condors, but we did see a couple of magnificent specimens that Mark managed to capture with his newly-cleaned camera.  We spent the rest of the time enjoying the scenery and spotting some smaller bird species.Read more