We had an early start in the cold weather for our journey into the canyon.
Our first stop was at a small town where children were performing traditional dances in the plaza. They do this every morning from 6-8am collecting money for a school trip to Machu Picchu. It was the turn of the teenage boys and girls today and they looked lovely in their costumes.
We then continued the journey stopping to view the terraces where the farmers grew their crops.
The canyon is home to the Andean condor and they can be seen at close range as they fly past the canyon walls. They typically live about 60–70 years, and have a wingspan of about 2.1–2.7 metres (7–9 ft).
We arrived at the viewpoint as quite a few condors flew over. We spent half an hour there and saw more of them but it was hard to get photos as they glide around on the thermals. It was an amazing sight though.
Carlos then took us for a walk, pointing out plants and explaining their uses in healing. We saw more condors as we walked along.
We stopped at a small town on the way back to see an old church, had a lovely buffet meal and then started the long journey back to Arequipa.
When we arrived back we walked back up to the Plaza for a last look round before packing for an early start in the morning.