Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Middle Canyon
Behold the most accessible and popular segment of the canyon, a landscape dominated by
agriculture and characterized by some of the most intensely terraced hillsides on earth.
The greenery and accessibility has led this to becoming the canyon's busiest region with
the bulk of the business centered in the small town of Chivay.
CHIVAY
054 / POP 6300 / ELEV 3630M
Chivay is the Colca Canyon's unashamedly disheveled nexus, a traditional town that has
embraced tourism without (so far) losing its unkempt high country identity. Long may it
continue!
Around the market area and in the main square are good places to catch a glimpse of
the decorative clothing worn by local Colca women. The town itself affords enchanting
views of snowcapped peaks and terraced hillsides, and serves as a logical base from which
to explore smaller towns further up the valley.
SOURCE OF THE AMAZON TREK
For centuries it remained one of the world's greatest mysteries. Humans had landed probes on Mars and split the
atom before they got around to finding and - more importantly - agreeing upon the source of the world's most vo-
luminous and (debatably) longest river, the mighty Amazon. Everyone from Alexander von Humboldt to Jean-
Michel Cousteau pitched in with their thoughts and theories (often backed up with expensive expeditions) before
the headwaters were finally pinpointed unequivocally in 2007: a fissure in a steep cliff situated at 5170m on the
northern slopes of Nevado Mismi 6992km from the Amazon's river mouth on Brazil's Atlantic coast. Here glacial
melt-waters collect in Laguna McInytre before flowing into the Apacheta, Apurímac, Ucayali and Marañón rivers
whereupon they form the Amazon proper.
It is surprisingly easy to hike to the Amazon's source (marked inauspiciously by a wooden cross) from the
Cañón del Colca. Paths ply north from the villages of Lari or Tuti. It's a two-day out-and-back hike from the latter
village though some people prefer to undertake a three-day circuitous route starting in Lari and ending in Tuti,
thus making a complete circle of Nevado Mismi. Alternatively, in the dry season, it is possible to get a 4x4 to
within 30 minutes hike of the Apacheta cliff. Carlos Zárate Adventures ( Click here ) in Arequipa organizes mem-
orable guided hikes. Soloists should come equipped with maps, food, tents and cold-weather clothing.
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