Deeper than the Grand Canyon

Near Arequipa is a spectacular tourist attraction: the Colca Canyon. This canyon cuts 3182 metres (10,607 feet) into the earth. Twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Colca is shadowed by snow-topped mountains, many of them volcanoes, and sliced by the Colca river.

Image © Rien Bouw

Image © Andrys Basten

Along the wider parts of the canyon, Indian farmers irrigate narrow terraces of rich volcanic earth. These terraces have been in use even before the Inca period.

Image © Jaroslaw Swiecicki

View at Cruz del Condor in the Canyon, with indeed a real condor.
Image © Thierry Jans

Snow in the village of Chivay near the Cañon Colca.
Image © Serge Mees

View over Chivay and part of the canyon, with the typical Inca terraces which
are still in use and quite efficient. Image © Alex Seeley

Image © George Selembo