I hiked into the canyon with a guide named Omar. He turned out to be the best guide I had in Peru. He was extremely well read on a variety of subjects; he was a birder; he was patient with my slow pace; he was a good storyteller; he was an excellent cook, etc. etc.
Omar
We set off from Cabanaconde about 9:45 a.m on a beautiful, cloudless day. It took us less than a 1/2 hour to get from the village to the rim of the canyon. Along the way we met both locals and tourists who had just climbed out of the canyon. Some of the tourists had taken the easy way out–on the back of a donkey.
Not far from the rim, we saw a couple of Andean condors floating on the currents of air caused by the rising temperatures in the canyon.
An Andean condor soaring above Colca Canyon
The trail was so steep and rocky that I spent most of my time looking down at the trail and my feet. When we came to steps (there were a lot, but not nearly as many as on the Inca Trail), I took my time and tried to use my trekking poles to reduce the impact on my knees. Sometimes the steps were rocks that had been set in place; sometimes the steps were carved out of the rock. All were uneven and of varying heights and depths. It was very difficult to establish any sort of rhythm while walking.
The trail was on the south face of the canyon. The sun was brutal. I tried to drink lots of water, but it was hard to find a level place to stop and drink. For me, the sun was the most difficult aspect of the trek.
About an hour into the descent, the trail rounded a bend and we could suddenly see into the depths of the canyon. For the first time, I could see our destination. It was almost directly below, and those squiggles between me and the swimming pool, that was the trail. Like I said in the last post, whoever laid out this trail had no interest in using distance to moderate the gradient.
My First View of Paraiso
There were no expansive views like in the Grand Canyon where one can see for miles and miles until you get down into the Vishnu Schist, but the view was grand, nonetheless.
My first view down into the depths of the canyon
An hour and a half later, I was still looking down at the oasis which didn’t seem to be all that closer.
It's getting closer, but it's still far away
Finally