Colca Canyon
in Peru

Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and considerably less visited, Colca cuts through the Andes of southern Peru in a series of terraced walls that the pre-Inca Collagua and Cabana peoples farmed with a precision that is still visible from the rim. The condors are the reason most people come to the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint, and they deliver: great black and white wings riding the morning thermals out of the canyon with a casual mastery of altitude that makes the watching crowd go very quiet. But Colca rewards those who descend. The trail to the canyon floor takes a full day, the thermal pools at Sangalle are worth the aching legs, and the villages of Yanque and Chivay in the upper valley have a pace and an altitude-adjusted calm that stay with you considerably longer than the condors do.