Future travelers to Peru: Colca Canyon is a must-see! Almost twice as large as the Grand Canyon and 4km deep in places, with a strong resemblance to the U.S. southwest.
We stayed in Cabanaconde, a tiny village perched on the edge of a ravine, and contender for my favorite place so far. Such a great place that I'm going to name-drop where to stay: Valle del Fuego, a quirky place with enormous breakfasts run by laid-back owner Yamil, and down in Sangalle Oasis, the Paradise Oasis (the one with the rectangular pool) run by his equally awesome brother Pablito.
We stayed up in the town, pretty much a main square and not much else. Dinners ran US $5-7 total for the two of us, and we finally had Peruvian chicken! Nick, similar to King Pollo but the green sauce is much, much spicier.
After getting turned around in some farmers' fields en route to the start of the trail, we spent a morning hiking maybe 2 kilometers vertically down to the bottom of the canyon. The Sangalle Oasis at the bottom is even more magical after a dusty, sun-scorched hike. A cluster of simple lodges with palm trees and river-fed pools perfect for a lazy afternoon.
We didn't feel like hiking back up so we took mules instead, which took half the time going up that we needed going down! Priscilla's mule Esperanza was great, while my ride Francisco preferred stop-and-go.
Now we're off to Arequipa!
PS added photos to the previous post!
Peter
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