Tag Archives: Peru

Another pinch of salt

22 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in geology, nature, nature photography

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Last week I showed you the largest salt flats in the world in Bolivia. This week we’re still in South America but have moved north to Peru, to Salineras de Maras in the Andean Mountains about 40 kilometres from Cusco, where salt has been mined for hundreds of years.

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The earliest salt pans are thought to have been constructed by the Wari civilisation, but it was their successors, the Incas, who recognised the commercial opportunities of salt-mining and increased the extent of the pans, which now cover much of a steep gorge that runs down in to the Sacred Valley. The salty water bubbles to the surface in a small spring from ancient salt lakes now buried deep below the earth’s surface, and is ingeniously conveyed down the mountainside via a meandering maze of irrigation channels. People from the local community work constantly to maintain these channels and to ensure just the right amount of water is allowed into each pan before the pan is closed off and allowed to dry out. The sun’s heat evaporates the water, leaving behind a thick coating of salt, which is harvested for sale – and then the whole process starts all over again.

Salineras de Maras is very near the intriguing Inca site of Moray and the wonderful market town of Chincero, so combining a visit to all three makes for a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting day’s excursion from Cusco. Or, if you want to spend a little more time getting a feel for your surroundings, try the hike from Moray through Maras and the salt pans down to the Sacred Valley. It’s well worth the effort.

The flight of the condors

02 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by in birds, nature

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Colca Canyon, in southern Peru, is the deepest canyon in the world, so the drive to see its world-famous birds is heart-in-the-mouth stuff, but the heebie-jeebies, and having to get up in the freezing hour before dawn, are well worth it.

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We reached Cruz del Condor, 1000 metres above the canyon floor, at about 8.30 am and scrambled over the rocks of the viewpoint to find a good spot to wait. Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus) are big birds, weighing up to 15 kgs and with a wingspan of around 3 metres, so they need the thermals to glide up the canyon each morning, before flying off for up to 250 kms in search of their day’s food – dead animals! Patience is required – how quickly they come depends on what the weather’s like, when the sun hits the bottom of the canyon, how quickly the air warms up … But, eventually, we saw some small birds a long way below and kept watching until, by 10.30am, they had reached our level and were gliding past us just metres away.

There were several adult birds and two brown-feathered juveniles. The young birds seemed to tire and settled for a while on a rock very close to the canyon edge – a rare treat to have them so close to us. And the whole spectacle was marvellous to watch – I filled up a memory card with photos but eventually stopped clicking and stood enthralled by the condors’ seemingly effortless flight. One of nature’s miracles!

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Lizards of Machu Picchu

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in nature, reptiles

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When most tourists explore the magnificent Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru, they focus on the breathtaking mountain-top location, the stomach-churning near-vertical drops on every side, the precision of the stone work, the enormity of the human effort involved in the city’s construction, the hundreds of steep potentially ankle-turning steps, the cuteness of the grazing llamas …

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I saw all those things but I also saw lizards! As far as I can work out, these are Spiny whorltail iguanas (Stenocercus crassicaudatus), a species of lizard that is only found in the 13,000 km2 region around Cusco. According to the ICUN Redlist website, it is a species of least concern ‘because the agricultural activities that are taking place in its distribution do not fragment or affect in major ways its population’, understandable when the land in this region ranges from 1060m to 6260m above sea level. Very wisely, the Spiny whorltail is not known to venture above 2500m. I found them basking in sunny spots on the stones of Machu Picchu – I imagine they spend most of their days sun-basking as it can get very very cold there, even in the summer months!

Happy International Sloth Day!

22 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by in animals, nature

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I had another post lined up for today but, when I found out it was International Sloth Day, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share these photos with you. Now, I know this is not environmentally correct. I know I really shouldn’t have had a sloth hanging off me. But, when it was offered, I just couldn’t say no, and I think you can see how hilariously happy I was for this short five minutes.

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These photos were taken when I was managing an NGO near Cusco, Peru, back in 2011-2012. The British charity I was working for, Globalteer, runs an after-school programme at Picaflor House in the small town of Oropesa, near Cusco. On this day in August 2011, we were about to farewell a fabulous group of people who had been volunteering at our project and who all chipped in to give our children an extra-special treat, a visit to a local wildlife refuge and sanctuary.

The children were overjoyed, the refuge were very happy for the financial support of the entry fees and, just as we were leaving, one of the rangers brought this sloth to show us, offering to hang it off me as they looked. I wasn’t allowed to touch it – human germs! – which is why my arms are constantly outstretched, but it truly was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!

International Sloth Day was the brainchild of The Sloth Institute, in Costa Rica, one of many environmental organisations helping to research, rescue and release back into the wild these magnificent creatures. I don’t know enough about the organisation to endorse them but I would urge everyone to do what they can to help preserve the sloth and its environment all around the world.

Hello, Paddington Bear!

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in animals, nature, nature photography

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I must’ve had a deprived childhood – I never read the Paddington Bear books and I didn’t even know Paddington came from ‘deepest, darkest Peru’ until a few years ago. However, when I finally met Paddington in real life, at the Chaparri Nature Reserve in northern Peru, he wasn’t wearing a red hat or a blue duffel coat or spectacles. He was, though, the cutest creature, perhaps even more cute than Paddington.

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These particular Spectacled Bears (Tremarctos ornatus) are wildlife rescues. Twenty-five-year-old Papa Bear came from a circus where he had been so badly mistreated that he cannot be rehabilitated into the wilds of the reserve. He lives with Mama Bear and Baby Bear, who will be released into the reserve to fend for himself as soon as he’s able. Wild bears live in the hills behind the area where the tourist trails and accommodation are located, so visitors rarely see them, except in September, when one particular tree flowers and fruits, drawing the bears down from the hills to enjoy these treats.

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Spectacled Bears are so-named because many have lighter-coloured circular markings around their eyes, and every face marking is different so individuals are easily identifiable. The bears live to about 30 years or age and are mostly vegetarian – they really liked the sweet potatoes our guide was feeding them.

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