Chivay

Then on Saturday, after breakfast, we set out for the Colca Valley with a small tour This Valley is famous for Condors and being the deepest canyon in the world. The trip out was somewhat difficult, as the roads are gravel, winding, not well-maintained. We passed through volcanos and inside an extinct volcano. Because of the altitude we were travelling, we bought some coca leaves. We chewed the coca leaves with some lime sprinkled on them as we climibed up to an altitude of 4800 metres.

During this journey we entered an area called the Reserva Nacional (Park). Inside this area is the Tojra Pampa area, which is going to be designated as a World Heritage site, because although, this is a desert area natural springs surface here creating a form of moss and short grass. This area is populated with Alpaca, Lama, and Vicuna. Vicuna fleece sells for $l,500 dollars a pound. A coat in vicuna would cost some$5,000. Vicuna is considered the softest and finest and warmest in the world. A vicuna can only be sheared once every two years otherwise it can become too stressed.

Beyond the area of the Alpaca, Lama and Vicuna, we entered a bleak, barren landscape, up to an altitude of 4,800 metres. Up on the rocks in this area it snowed. We stopped at a cafe on the mountain side and had a coca tea. After our tea, we descended down to the Colca Valley where we stopped for the night in Chivay an indigenuous town.

After settling into our hotel in Chivay we went to the La Calera hot springs. They are some two and half miles out of town. The view surrounding the hotsprings was stunning.
That night, we went out for dinner and watched a folklore musical group and dancers. We danced the night away with them. The owner of the restaurant was entralled with our group and gave us all a free glass of wine hoping that we would continue to stay.


However, we had to leave because our wake up call was five am the next morning.