The little colonial town of Chivay is located at the high end of the Colca Canyon, at an altitude of 3700 meters.

 

For most tourists arriving from Arequipa, Chivay is their entry point to the Colca Canyon and the Andean Condors.

 

Many stay for lunch and pay a short visit to the main square, the Plaza de Armas,  

the cold colonial church and the market.

 

Tourism has become a major source of income for the locals and nowadays you can even test your karaoke skills at night with large outdoor TV screens and bars.

 

Despite these modern distrations Chivay's 4500 inhabitants try to maintain their age old traditional way of life.

 

Near Chivay are the hotsprings Thermas la Calera and an old Inca bridge over the Colca River.

 

We visited Chivay in September 2010.