DEEPEST PERU

Several years ago, my daughther Tina and I went on a well deserved vacation which took us to several sites in Southern Peru. One of our visits was to the Colca Canyon, at about 3000 m depth easily one of the deepest in the world. Having visited the canyon from the southern rim two years earlier, I proposed this time that we go by the lesser travelled northern rim, following the road to Machahuay, in Peru's Arequipa department.

Upon reaching Machahuay, our party, consisting of Tina and I, a colleague, a guide and a driver, rested while admiring the splendid mountainous scenery that surrounded us. I struck a conversation with Bernardino, our time-tested guide, and said: "It feels great to be in deepest Peru."

Pointing east of us, he said: "This is not deepest Peru... deepest Peru is out there, three hills east of here... where even I am not welcomed."

 

 

The Colca Canyon, in Arequipa, Peru.

The Colca Canyon, in Arequipa, Peru.