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The Canyon has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and several stone age sites have been discovered in the valley, producing a variety of stone arrowheads and other tools. Settlement in earnest began in the pre-Inca period when the Collagua and Cabana groups started to carve terracing out of the hillsides. It is a testament to their skill and ingenuity that, 1,400 years later, farmers are still using and maintaining these original terraces to produce the staple crops of the region
Like all the other ethnic groups in the region, the Cabana and Collagua were eventually either conquered by the Incas or scattered into the far reaches of the Canyon. The Incas attached great ritual significance to the area, as can be seen from the discovery of one of the area's most famous inhabitants, Juanita the mummy (see our guide to Arequipa) in a cave in the canyon. After the conquista, the Spaniards also recognised Colca's importance and ordered what was left of the canyon's population after years of war and disease to be gathered into fourteen villages in the valley to make agricultural exploitation and tax collection easier. If this sad episode in the canyon's history can be said to have had a silver lining, it lies in the fourteen churches of the valley, each a unique example of the blending of European religion and architecture with those of the inhabitants' ancestral traditions.
Colca Today
Today, these churches are at the centre of villages which are an integral part of any visit to Colca Canyon, with those at Cabanaconde, Lari and Sibayo being particularly outstanding. Many of the villages seem to have been frozen in time, with their thatched-roof houses and women in traditional dress. They make great stops as you travel along the valley. Usually your best route is to travel into the Canyon from Arequipa, stopping at a few villages on the way, and then staying overnight in Chivay. After a night's rest there, you can head back to Arequipa by an alternate route.
Of course we'll make sure that you get to see everything that Colca has to offer. In terms of wildlife, the canyon is hard to beat; the most famous residents are probably the enormous Andean Condors and Colca Canyon is indisuptably the best place to get up close and personal with the largest bird in the world. They can grow to have a wingspan of over three metres and, unsurprisingly, have been revered by every culture that has come into contact with them. We can take you to the best places in the canyon to see the condors and we know that once you've seen them you'll understand why the Incas believed that a condor carried the sun into the heavens every morning!
Other Wildlife in Colca Canyon
The canyon is also home to a wide variety of other birds and animals. As well as condors, you can hope to see giant hummingbirds, and over 100 other types of birds. The Canyon is also home to what is possibly the cutest animal in the whole of Peru: the vicuña. Check out our Colca Canyon photo gallery to see what we mean. These beautiful animals were almost hunted into extinction for their wool - a single vicuña-wool shirt today retails at around £2000 - but luckily are now protected by law and can roam the slopes as they always have done. Apart from vicuñas there are wildcats, guanacos, tarucas and many other species which are unique to the micro-climates of the canyon.
We recommend you spend at least 2 days and a night in the canyon on your Peru holiday to experience it properly - it's a very special part of Peru and somewhere that a lot of visitors miss in favour of more 'obvious' sights. We're sure that if you give it a go, you certainly won't be disappointed! Also, as well as our guided tours, we also offer some really great treks in the canyon - click here if you'd like to find out more.
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