Colca Canyon

San Juan, the village we stayed the night in (just visible in the below picture) is only accessible by foot. All the supplies to the village are carried by mule along the perolous routes. We arrived at the base of the canyon as the sun was setting so had to walk up to San Juan in the dark. Really enjoyable to walk beneath the stars in such a bright night sky but at the same time quite scary following the path in the dark.



Cocinilla Beetles living on the surface of cacti.

Condors
Originally uploaded by Lizzie Roe.

In the 1980's the market price for Cocinilla was very high. The villages in this part of the canyon prospered from selling the beetles. Now the price is a tenth of what it was many people have deserted the villages. The remaining population is not big enough to support a hospital or education above primary level.