Chivay

In the morning condors ride the rising air out of the canyon. Around eight brings the most of them, and after ten they are usually gone.

Terraces worked for more than fifteen hundred years line both walls of the canyon. Maize and quinoa are still grown on the same steps.

Open air pools outside the village hold around thirty eight degrees and steam heavily at night. At this altitude the cold hits the moment you leave the water.

Early in the morning villagers dance on the square in traditional dress. The embroidery differs from village to village, and it tells you where someone is from.

A pre Inca settlement sits on the canyon slope and is reached on foot. Hardly anyone goes, so the ruins and the terraces stay quiet.

The route drops all the way down and climbs back across two days. Three hours down is nothing next to the four hours back up.

A handful of lodges with palms and pools sit on the canyon floor. Power comes on for the evening alone, and mules carry the bags.

A small observatory in the village puts southern constellations in the telescope. Temperatures fall below freezing after dark, so heavy clothing is needed.

The road from Arequipa crosses a pass at 4910m with six volcanoes in view. Stepping out of the vehicle, the breath shortens and nobody stands there long.

Wild vicuna move in groups across the high plain and show from the road. Their wool is very fine, which makes the cloth expensive, and taking them is restricted by law.

The white colonial church of Maca, a canyon-road village, with a richly carved front. Earthquakes and the nearby volcano have cracked it repeatedly, and it has been patched each time. On the plaza, people charge for photos holding a hawk or a baby alpaca.

A courtship dance of the Colca Valley villages, on UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2015. Male dancers wear layers of embroidered women's skirts. On festival days in Chivay's plaza, troupes from each village circle all day long.

A geyser throwing hot water and steam on the flank of Hualca Hualca volcano. From the canyon-road village of Pinchollo it is about two hours' walk uphill across the high slope. Signs are few, so ask the way in the village before setting out.

A stream high on Mount Mismi, north of Chivay, is counted as the Amazon's most distant headwater. Reaching it is a long day by car and on foot to around 5,000 m. Skip it on day one and go after a few days of acclimatising in the canyon.

An upriver village, roughly an hour beyond Chivay along the Colca, lined with old stone houses under grass roofs. The community runs homestays and guiding, so staying overnight is possible. A swaying footbridge over the river ends the walk through town.