Going Grande in Colca Canyon

The most famous canyon on earth is undoubtedly Arizona’s Grand Canyon, but it’s by no means the biggest. In fact the world’s two deepest canyons are both a long way from the US. If you travel all the way down through Mexico and Central America, cross the Panama Canal and head the Pacific Coast to Peru, you’ll find the stunning Colca Canyon, and its near neighbour, Cotahuasi. The Grand Canyon doesn’t look quite so grand compared to these two behemoths – both are twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, although surveys have differed over which of the two is the world’s deepest.

English: Souvenir sellers in Colca Canyon, Peru. Polski: Sprzedawcy pamiątek w kanionie Colca w Peru. Español: Vendedores de recuerdos en el Cañón del Colca (Perú). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the major problems with visiting Cotahuasi is that it’s hugely inaccessible. There are almost no roads going anywhere near it, let alone into it and it’s very, very sparsely populated, meaning that you need to carry all your supplies in with you. However, the infrastructure in Colca Canyon, which is much nearer the regional capital of Arequipa, is much more developed and so although it’s definitely still an adventure, many people manage to fit in a visit to Colca as part of their Peru holidays.

Generally speaking, people take a two-day trip into Colca Canyon from Arequipa. The road journey takes you through the Salinas-Aguada Blanca National Park, where you can observe alpacas and llamas, along with their reclusive relatives, vicuñas. The smallest of South America’s camelids, vicuñas look like Bambi crossed with a llama, and this area is probably the best in South America for seeing them in the wild. Sadly for nature-lovers everywhere, vicuña wool is prized by connoisseurs for giving the warmth of wool but with the fineness of silk, and it’s incredibly valuable. So much so, that a vicuña-wool shirt will cost you more than $10,000. However, here in the Salinas-Aguada Blanca Reserve, they are protected and thriving.

The drive into Colca Canyon takes most of a day and so it’s not really feasible to do as a day trip. Most visitors stay overnight in the town of Chivay, which is more or less in the middle of the Canyon. Before you get to Chivay, however, you will pass through some smaller villages where time seems to have stood still since the colonial era – the houses are also still built traditionally with stone walls and thatched roofs, and you can still see the locals wearing their traditional dress. Each of the villages also has a fine church, and these are among Peru’s best examples of the mixed Spanish and indigenous architecture known as the mestizo style.

Between the villages, you will be treated to the jaw-dropping views which are the real attraction of the journey. The vast scale of Colca Canyon can be hard to get a handle on at first, but the thousand-year-old terraces which line the sheer sides of the canyon help to give some sense of proportion, as does the odd pin-prick of an alpaca in the distance! As well as stopping at the villages along the way, most tours will also stop at special mirador viewing-points so that you can be sure of getting some fabulous photos as well.

After an overnight stay in Chivay, you can get up at dawn and drive to the best mirador of all, which is called the Cruz del Condor, or Condor Cross. Here you will have some breathtaking views down into one of Colca’s deepest sections, and you will also be directly opposite the nests of Colca’s resident giant Andean Condors. On a good day you can see several condors launch themselves from the nests and swoop down into the Canyon to catch the morning thermals, before spiralling higher as they head out for the day’s hunting – the journey can take them right down to the Chilean coast, hundreds of miles away. Even if you’re not a birder, this is undoubtedly one of the highlights of many people’s Peru holidays.

And if you can spare just a little more time in Colca, then you can stay at one of the many lodges in the Canyon, and give over a couple of days to trekking in Colca Canyon. Even if you only allow one extra day you could manage a trek down on to the Canyon floor, where the views back up the sheer sides are especially impressive. And if you’re feeling super-fit and ready for a challenge then you could even try climbing the massive El Misti volcano for a real bird’s eye view of the area…

If you’d like to incorporate a visit to Colca Canyon into your Peru holidays then http://www.realworldholidays.co.uk/ is a UK-based tour operator which specialises in tailor-made travel in Peru. They can arrange everything from group tours to individual services with private guides and transport so that you can enjoy Colca at your own pace. The only thing they can’t guarantee is the condors – never work with children or animals…

Top Holiday Locations For Once-In-A-Lifetime Flying Experiences

If you’re an adventure junkie, going on a flying experience across some of the world’s most beautiful landscape will be something you won’t forget in a hurry. Here is our pick of the best flights you can choose from if you’re looking to see the world from a different angle.

Helicopter ride over NYC

English: View of NYC from Empire state building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New York City has so much to offer tourists in terms of things to see, with visitors being able to walk through Central Park’s serene greenery, get lost in the crowds in Times Square and sit among the skyscrapers from the top of the Empire State Building. However, if you want to see all of NYC’s amazing sights in one go, there’s only one way to do it – by helicopter.

There are many opportunities to get an aerial view of the Big Apple, and it is definitely worth doing so if you want to take in the sight of all the attractions sitting next to each other – without having to walk for miles on end. Among the attractions you can see are the Empire State Building, Chrysler, George Washing Bridge, Central Park, Ellis Island, Yankee Stadium and the Woolworth building.

It will certainly be an amazing experience to spot all the famous sights together, giving you unparalleled views of New York’s impressive skyline.

Hot air balloon ride over the Maasai Mara

If you’ve always wanted to go on a safari, Kenya’s Maasai Mara offers some of the best wildlife-spotting opportunities in the world. Home to the Big Five, you’ve got a good chance of being able to see lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos and rhinos. There’s nothing quite like coming face-to-face with these majestic creatures in their natural habitat, but the landscape in which they live is just as breathtaking and it is well worth seeing Kenya’s savannah in its full glory by taking a hot air balloon ride over the desert plains.

When you hop in a hot air balloon, you will soar above the tawny, sandy land at dawn, taking in the mesmerising views as the sun floods the plains in gold and the animals come out of hiding. With such a huge perspective of the savannah, you’ve got an excellent chance of seeing more creatures than you would if trying to spot them on land, and cheetahs, hippos, hyenas, giraffes and crocodiles are among common sightings from the sky, as well as the Big Five.

Many hot air balloon rides finish with a Champagne breakfast in the national park, which is the perfect way to end such a magnificent trip.

Flying through the skyscrapers of Dubai

For city-slickers who find nothing more fascinating than a concrete jungle, Dubai is the place to go, home to a huge number of skyscrapers and magnificent pieces of architecture. To really appreciate the United Arab Emirate city’s modern skyline, you need to see it from above, with small flights over the metropolis offering the best opportunities to do this.

You will be able to fly past Burj Al Khalifa – the world’s tallest building at 828 m – as well as Dubai’s other famous buildings, including the Dubai Mall, Dubai Sports City, Burj Al-Arab and the magnificent man-made Palm Islands. All of these are typically on holidaymakers’ hit list of things to see, but this experience will be made even better if you can take a look at these famous sights from above the ground.

See the Grand Canyon from above

Another great trip that you won’t want to miss out on is taking a ride over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The magnificent caldera stretches 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep, and is perhaps the most famous canyon in the world.

While most people take a look at the gorge from its cliff edge, not many get to see the sandy-coloured canyon in its full glory. By flying above, you will see the changing landscape of the canyon as you follow the Colorado River through the rocky valley.

Natasha Al-Atassi is a travel reporter, writing articles about different holiday experiences around the world. As part of her portfolio, she writes for Select Residential Property.