I, like most people, am interested in things that are the highest, longest, deepest, fastest, etc. Guinness, of beer fame, even has a book of such things. Luckily, on this trip I have gotten to see quite a few. In no particular order they are...
Uyuni salt flats - the largest in the world.
Aticama desert - driest in the world.
Potosi, Bolivia - highest city of over 100,000 in the world.
La Pas, Bolivia - highest capital city in the world. (Caveat here being that Sucre shares the capital. Still, they average out higher than any other.)
Machu Picchu - best preserved Incan ruins.
Bus to Machu Picchu - most expensive, per kilometer, in the world. (Probably)
Amazon - largest river. (Not the longest, but by volume... whoa.)
Condor - the largest flying bird in the Western Hemisphere.
Lake Titicaca - highest navigable lake in the world.
Cusquena Negro - worst beer in the world. (OK, that is just my opinion but, it is like a porter with corn syrup mixed in -ick.)
Colca Canyon - deepest canyon in the world.
Whoa, OK... record scratch here. What? Really? When I heard that, and that I was just a few hours drive away, I decided I had to see it. My guide book actually informed me that nearby Cotahuasi was even deeper. I guess I sort-of assumed the Grand Canyon had that title. There was only one problem - the wildcat miners in Peru were upset about the prospect of having to register, comply with environmental regulations, and pay taxes, so they blocked the Pan American highway, thereby preventing me from making the 10 hour journey to see Cotahuasi. So, I decided that the estimated extra 300 meters between it and Colca wasn't that important to me and I would visit Colca instead. Especially when I saw photos. Yes, Cotahuasi is, apparently, very deep. BUT, it is also very wide - there's a small city at the bottom of it for crying-out-loud. In my mind, that makes it less of a canyon, and more of a valley, but after a little reading I learned that this whole buisiness of "deepest" really seems to be a case of "It depends on what your definition of IS, is." In fact, the infallible wikipedia hardly mentions either one.
In any event, the miners made sure I wasn't going anywhere, so I had time to check out Colca, anyhow.
It's a four hour drive over a pass of 16,000 feet to Cobanaconde, which is a dusty little village that people only visit because it is the hopping off point for a hike down into the canyon. You stop along the way to see the Cruz de Condor, which is where the birds congregate in the mornings. One flew directly overhead and I have to say... wow. I mean... Christ, they are HUGE. The one I saw had to have at least a wingspan of 8 feet or more. That alone almost made the $25 entry fee into the area worth it.
Once in the village itself, I made inquiries as to how to see both the hot springs and the Sangalle Oasis, at the bottom of the canyon. I had four different maps, and each was more worthless than the other. Asking around didn't help... I got estimates of everywhere from four hours to eight for the hike I was thinking about. (This may be the most frustrating part of traveling in this part of the world, and I was reminded of my experience in Central America. If you ask a question, you will almost certainly get an answer. And it will almost certainly be wrong. You must ask the same question at least a half-dozen times to get a good sample, then come up with an average. Only then can you start to hope that you have the right answer. And you will still probably be wrong.) Thunder clouds were building on the horizon, and that decided my route for me - directly down to the Oasis.
I have to say, that it is impressive to see. But the worlds deepest... I just don't know. It took me about two hours to get down to the bottom on a steep, heavily switchbacked trail. The Grand Canyon, by comparison, takes about 4-5 hrs.
The little tiki-hut lodges at the bottom are perfectly lovley. Swimming pools, bars, food - nothing fancy, but more than adequate. (My thatch-roofed room cost about $5 that night.) The hike out the next day was hot, but it still only took me 3 hrs. (I stopped a lot along the way, too.)
Now, I don't want to spread conspiracy theories, but has anyone checked the IP address of the sites proclaiming these canyons to be the deepest? Because I would not be surprised to learn that they are originating in Peru. You see, Peru figured out long ago with Machu Picchu that there is money in tourism. In fact, the estimate for 2013 was $3.8 billion. Not Neuvo Soles, either - dollars. In all the cities even remotely close to something of interest you will find about 10,000 offices hawking guided treks, paragliding, tours, dune buggy rides, horseback rides, boat tours, or almost any combination thereof. (And they will almost never include the park/ site feet. Be warned.) So, in the end, having a lot of things in your country that you can claim are the something-est is certainly in your own self interest, even if there may be a caveat or two attached to them.
I dont mean to sound bitter. I get it, and I guess I dont blame the Peruvians for doing it. Just today, though, I have been told how pefect in nutrition Cuy (guinea pig) meat is. I bought overly spendy Sachi Inchi nuts, which are supposed to do everything from help digestion to improve memory. (Also,they are the blandest nut imaginable.)
Anyway... come to Peru. Enjoy all of the incredible natural and man-made wonders that it has to offer, because they are many. But take them with a grain of salt. (There are plenty in Bolivia - remember the salt flats are the largest in the world.)
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