Arequipa and Colca Canyon

With the perfect shaped volcano of El Misti on the background, Arequipa aka 'the white city' was a pleasant city to be in. It lacks the size and the craziness of Lima and it was rather safe to walk around. My local friend Diego showed me around and took me to some local sites that most tourists don't see.

Arequipa also was my base for a day-trip to Colca Canyon, one of the deepest Canyons in the world. There I saw the great condor birds and the Andean snow peaks. It was the first time I was at an altitude of 5000m during this trip and I was happy not to suffer from altitude sickness.
After five days in Arequipa I hopped on the Peru Hop bus for an Andean night-ride to Cusco.