Andean Explorations – 7: Andean Condors in Colca
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Views of the Colca mountain range
At 1 am, we started from Arequipa local bus station and our first destination was the Condor lookout point some 6 hours away. I say ‘we’ because I did not go to the Colca canyon by myself, but found a group as narrated in previous post. I met my other teammates – a Czech couple, a Spanish couple and a guy from USA. Everyone was cool. We got into a bus that was going to drive us to Chivay शीवे, change the bus at 3 am and board another local bus from there. It was impossible to sleep because the route was a dirt road, but after a while I became oblivious to the jerks and shocks and head hitting the window frame. There was a cold wave in Peru that time and it did not help at all. The journey rattled each and every bone in my body and I swear I heard clattering sounds of my bones while I walked later on. But my body ache disappeared the moment we got off at a watch point in the canyon. Take a look at these pictures, picture yourself watching it and then multiply that feeling by a thousand times. Now who cares about a silly bus ride?
Colca Canyon. The Colca river flows in this valley
It was very cold and windy since the nearby peaks are snow covered. I was shivering, Peru was supposed to be a tropical country; clearly I did not research enough. Several regions in the Arequipa and Puno provinces are at very high altitudes and it can get chilly at night; plus there can be cold waves (like this one). I wrapped myself some borrowed Alpaca shawls that the locals were selling and it was warm in no time!
My backpack
Condors, like Vultures, are scavengers. Scavengers only eat what is already dead and thus help clean the mess. The Andean Condors usually rise early morning during sunrise and rise high up in the sky surveying the landscape below. The canyon is very deep and it was not possible to see the bottom. But in no time, as the sun rose, we could see Condors flying in the sky.
Condor in the morning sky. Ah, freedom. I wish I could fly.
While flying out of the valley in circular loops, one giant bird appeared about 20 ft above me. It was a terrifying feeling and I ducked instinctively, although I was perfectly aware that a Condor don’t hunt. You really feel like a dwarf compared to these mighty Condors.
Andean Condor
Some excerpts filtered from Wikipedia:
The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a species of South American bird. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, it is the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and roosts at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 m (10,000 to 16,000 ft), generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. It is one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 50 years. The birds have a wing span of upto 10 ft. and weigh upto 15kg. The Andean Condor is considered ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN. It is threatened by habitat loss and by secondary poisoning from carcasses killed by hunters.
Andean Condors
Andean Condors (morning love)
Andean Condor (Hey look! A decaying bull… yummy!)
We came to this spot again on the next day while coming back from the trek and waiting for a bus. It was entertainment time because the place was full of tourists now who were complaining about the heat and dust; they were noisy, playing music, eating, shouting, running around, polluting, (sometimes their bus would honk) and then they grumbled about not seeing any Condors. It’s a not a circular logic; I don’t understand why people just don’t get it. It will permanently scare the birds away some day – from their own habitat. Go figure. They already have a ‘near threatened’ status.
Condor view point
Watching these huge creatures fly is a divine feeling. Something is different about them – huge birds, but scavengers; powerful, but isolated. Nature is amazing, nature is supreme and we are mere slaves, I ended up saying that for the hundredth time as our group descended into the valley.
For the complete photo set, slideshow and comments, please see my Colca Canyon Photo Gallery
Next post: Trekking in the Colca Canyon.
Previous post: Arequipa | Next post: Trekking in the Colca Canyon
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Excellent pics / photography !
↵Raji: You were here within minutes of posting! I was still correcting a couple of spelling mistakes and grammar here n there… hehehe. Thanks
↵Hey Priyank, Your series is really fun to read and informative, both. Your pictures are professional, dont you worry to people steal them?
And Israel stories are still unfinished. Tell about the fun you had in Tel Aviv and Dead Sea. Don’t forget, ok
↵Your pictures are amazing. Who was more scared to see each other ? You or them ?
↵Yair: Nice to see you here after a long time. Thanks for the lovely comments. I have stopped worrying about people stealing my images. I know its not the best policy but… nevermind.
I’ll resume Israel stories soon.
↵Cuckoo: hahaha! you are too funny!
↵woah
↵u have been blogging a lot
beautiful pics
Prax: Hey thanks for testing it out !
↵vow!!! I wouldn’t mind the bumpy ride if it were for the views these beautiful. Awesome pics dude.
↵From top of those mountains peering into the valleys at 7 am or so and those condors flying over. Interesting. Where next?:)
↵Awesome shots and very interesting story as usual.
↵Whoa… Great pics
Your website takes so much time to load that it drives me to sleep
↵Great pictures of the Condors! Amazing isn’t it? I was recently reading how vultures are going extinct in India; so much so, that the Parsis are having problems disposing their dead (they depend upon the vultures to dispose off their mortal flesh). And now the Condors. I would have thought there were ample opportunities for scavengers, but looks like even our dead are polluted now-a-days!
↵Mitraa…. Superb Pics of the Condor and gr8 supplementing info…keep it up… cheers !
↵Hey Priyank, hope all is well. One great story and love all your pictures, especially of the condors. Good to be back, and hope you are doing well. Anna
↵Maverick: Yes it was brutal night, but I dont have any complaints!
↵Celine: Thanks! Next is trekking into the colca canyon.
↵Bob: Thankyou:)
↵Manasa: Yeah
I am trying to fix it..
↵Shantanu: I read about the disappearance of vultures in the Parsi Towers of Silence too. This is not good…
↵Mitra Himanshu, nice to see you here and I’m happy to know that you liked it!
↵Anna: Thanks so much, its nice to have you back too !
↵quite a massive bird..i always imagined them picking up kids and flying away
↵Great photos of the canyon! The condors are very impressive, especially since they were endangered for so long but, like you said, they still are threatened.
↵Lakshmi:
They are too big and scary… and yet, beautiful!
↵Even I thought so
Matt
↵Thanks! The Peruvian government is waking up and trying to impose new regulations in this protected area. However unless the tourists themselves are more aware, the regulations will only have a limited effect.
[...] The conqueror, looking at his conquest Machu Picchu as viewed from Huyana Picchu looks like the Andean Condor. [...]
↵[...] Peru. The journey started from Miraflores in Lima, moved south to Arequipa, where we saw the mighty Condors and trekked in Colca canyon – the world’s deepest canyon. The travelogue then went to the [...]
↵Priyank, I just want to repeat what Nita advised in her comments in one of the posts here…
↵Publish your travel book or some good travel magazines will also love to feature them!
Professional travel write ups with some insightful, humorous observations along the way too.
[...] Me ← Andean Explorations – 5: Lima to Arequipa : Older post Newer post : Andean Explorations – 7: Andean Condors in Colca [...]
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