03.04.-05.04 - Arequipa/Colca Canyon

After a relatively comfortable overnight bus ride, we arrived in Arequipa on Tuesday morning. Arequipa is a city from the colonial period surrounded by three volcanoes: Misti (5822 meters), Chachani (6057 meters), and the smallest one, Picchu Picchu. The historic center of Arequipa, with its numerous baroque buildings made of Sillar (white volcanic stone), has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site - a truly beautiful town. 😊 After a day of exploring the city, we continued to Colca Canyon. The valley is part of the Andes mountain range and is one of the deepest canyons in the world - the second deepest canyon. On the way there, I finally encountered my beloved llamas and alpacas 😍♥️ The coolest animals in the world! To reach the Colca Valley, you have to endure a significant change in altitude (we reached the highest point at 4900 meters) and, of course, I suffered from altitude sickness. Thankfully, the Peruvians have a miracle cure for this: coca leaves, which are available in various forms. The most common forms are the leaves themselves or coca tea. After arriving in Chivay and having a meal at a Peruvian restaurant with singing and dancing, we ended the day in hot springs 😎 The next morning, we went to Cruz del Condor very early, where you can (if you're lucky) observe many condors. We were lucky and were able to admire several of these giant birds. Their wingspan can reach up to 3 meters. The highlands at the beginning of the Colca Canyon are made up of huge handcrafted terraces that are hundreds of years old. The terraces have been and continue to be intensively used for agriculture to grow vegetables and fruits. After this worthwhile and fascinating two-day trip, we continued (again overnight) to Cusco. Tomorrow, we will finally head towards Machu Picchu - one of the highlights of our trip! Please keep your fingers crossed that the weather is good and Machu Picchu is not covered in fog (which unfortunately happens frequently during this season) 🙈😅