yes, air pressure is only 56% here, better move slowly
a herd of grazing llamas
another empty corral
the mountains have a clear volcanic origin
the purchase is made, we can proceed to Chivay
the lady wears a colorful dress, the camelid wear its own wool
a panorama of Colca Canyon with Chivay down under
plenty of sunshine but at this altitude it is still chilly, so there are warm clothes for sale
To reach Chivay and the Colca Canyon from Arequipa you have to rise above yourself, actually you have to rise to 4910 meters
above sealevel. That is the height of the
Patapampa Pass that also goes by the name Mirador de los Andes.
To put this into perspective,
the highest mountain of western Europe is the
Mont Blanc, which peaks at a mere 4810 m.
It is a slow climb to the top of the
pass which looks more like a high altitude plain, only the descend to Chivay features some real hairpins and steep slopes.
The desolate panorama with the peaks of several volcanoes is pretty impressive.
If you can avoid the active sales ladies you
may spot V
iscachas, a kind of rabbit with a long tail.
Just before the final descend to Chivay there is a stop with a really
nice panorama of the Colca Valley.
But you have to share this observation point with the inevitable souvenir stands.
on the way to the top we pass stone corrals for the llama lifestock
inspecting high altitude moss
we have reached the top of the pass
a desolate panorama
a viscacha on the rocks
