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Located
in the department of Arequipa, the Colca
Valley covers a series of beautiful trekking circuits
which have been recently discovered for adventure tourism.
The area of the Colca Valley features a network of practically
endless trails that wind through the mountains, linking lovely
colonial villages. The area is also studded with beautiful
lakes, bizarre stone formations formed by wind erosion and
unique flora and fauna such as Andean condors, vicuñas,
queñual forests and clumps of yareta plants. The main
attraction of the Colca Valley is without a doubt the chain
of snow-capped volcanoes, some of them active: Mount Hualca
Hualca (6,025 masl), Sabancaya (5,976 meters) and Ampato (6,288
meters), among others. Since the time immemorial, the Colca
has been home to the Collagua and Cabana tribes, descendants
of the Pucará people of the southern highland plains
and from the Quechua people of Cuzco, who proved to be skillful
hydraulic engineers and master builders.
One of the most popular trekking routes in the Colca valley
is the trail that links the town of Cabanaconde and Tapay
in a circuit that takes two to three days and gives hikers
views of impressive landscapes, Cabana towns such as Cosnihua
and Malata, and many pre-Hispanic ruins.
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