A Photo a Day

January 11, 2008

Colca Canyon

Filed under: — site admin @ 10:52 pm

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For a long time, it was believed that the Colca Canyon was the deepest canyon on earth, but it turned out that the nearby Cotahuasi Canyon is even deeper.
In any case, the Colca Canyon is an attraction and walking there is a unique experience.
It is quite a strenuous effort, however, - after all it is situated at a height of approximately 3500 meters and acclimatisation is essential.
More on the Colca Canyon at Wikipedia.
More pictures from Peru on my main site and in this blog:
http://peru.travelphoto.net/
http://www.travelphoto.net/a-photo-a-day/wordpress/category/photos/peru/

January 5, 2007

Titicaca Boat

Filed under: — site admin @ 11:31 pm

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A few days ago, I posted a rowing boat in Essaouira now here is a slightly simillar small boat in a completely different setting at Lago Titicaca, Peru.

May 23, 2006

Train to Machu Picchu

Filed under: — site admin @ 8:42 pm

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For most travellers visiting Machu Picchu from Cuzco, the starting point of the train ride is Ollantaytambo.
It would be a pity though to miss out on the Inca ruins in Ollantaytambo itself, which are also very impressive.

January 19, 2006

Watching the canyon

Filed under: — site admin @ 9:05 pm

A Llama and a dog in the Colca Canyon (near Arequipa, Peru)

A white llama and a black dog are looking into the Colca Canyon (near Arequipa).

August 14, 2005

Cathedral in the Evening, Arequipa

Filed under: — lbobke @ 8:27 pm

Tower of the Cathedral
The Tower of the cathedral eith the Andes as a highly photogenic backdrop.

June 20, 2005

Inside the Inca Express

Filed under: — lbobke @ 10:52 pm

Inca Express
A truly fascinating way to discover this part of Peru: the Inca Express from Cuzco to Puno (Titicaca lake).
The historic train in itself is an attraction and you pass through very diverse landscapes.
A golden photo opportunity!

May 14, 2005

Santa Catalina

Filed under: — lbobke @ 5:49 am

Santa Catalina
Inside the Santa Catalina monastery, Peru.

March 6, 2005

Santa Catalina, Arequipa

Filed under: — lbobke @ 9:06 pm

Santa Catalina Monastery, Arequipa
The Convento de Santa Catalina is one of the major attractions of Arequipa.
The compound is huge - covering some 20,000 square metres. Built in the 16th century, it was almost a city within the city.
Contact between the 450 nuns living here and the outside world was fairly limited until 1970 when the convent was opened to the public.
The buildings are made of “sillar”, a volcanic material that is readily available near Arequipa and is easy to work with.
This may partly explain the elaborate design of the facades.
There are several distinct styles, including Spanish, Andalusian and indigenous elements.
Walking down the Calle Cordoba, it is easy to believe that this is somewhere in Andalusia…
I especially liked the strong colours used - many buildings are painted in red or blue and there are green plants everywhere…

February 23, 2005

Inca fortress at Pisac

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 7:42 pm

ceremonial center of Pisac
Pisac is about 30 km from Cusco. The place is well-known for two attractions: the colonial village with its market and the Inca fortress overlooking it.
The setting of Inca Pisac is truly spectacular with fantastic views of the Urubamba valley. The site is smaller than much more famous Machu Picchu, but very well preserved and much less touristy.
Like in Machu Picchu, there is a ceremonial centre with a sacred stone (Intihuatana) used for tying the sun to the Earth.

February 14, 2005

Coast at Paracas, Peru

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 1:52 am

Coast at Paracas
Incredible colours…

January 13, 2005

Pisac Pig

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 9:41 pm

Pig in Pisac

This pig was wandering through the streets of Pisac village.

January 9, 2005

Small Giants

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 9:33 pm

the Andes from above
Some mighty Andeam peaks appear just like tiny islands…
Seen on the flight from Arequipa to Cuzco.

January 2, 2005

Machu Picchu Llamas

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 10:07 pm

Llamas on terrace overlooking Machu Picchu
Looks as though the llamas had something interesting to talk about…
By the way: I just uploaded 30 pictures from Machu Picchu to my galleries

December 26, 2004

Sillustani Chullpas

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 5:55 am

Chullpas in Sillustani
Sillustani is famous for its Chulpas - the ancient Indian burial towers.

December 17, 2004

Colca Canyon, Peru

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 5:55 am

Colca Canyon
The Colca Canyon near Arequipa is officially the second deepest canyon in the world.
BTW: the deepest canyon is not, I repeat: not the Grand Canyon.
It’s Cotahuasi canyon, only a few kilometres from the Colca canyon!

The Colca canyon is famous for its natural beauty.

December 9, 2004

Circular terraces of Moray

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 6:34 am

Dramatic cliffs at Paracas, Peru. Photo: Laurenz Bobke
The cricular terraces of Moray are believed to have been an Incaagricultural laboratory.

December 7, 2004

Coast at Paracas, Peru

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 6:37 am

Dramatic cliffs at Paracas, Peru. Photo: Laurenz Bobke
Incredible colors and stark contrasts: at Paracas, the desert meets the sea.

December 5, 2004

Nazca lines - Colibri

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 10:44 pm

Nazca-lines: Colibri / humming bird
There are many theories regarding the purpose of these lines. Were they built for the gods to see? Or for shamans who “flew” over them in drug induced dreams?
Or did their creators already have means to actually leave the ground, such as balloons?
In any case, from the ground there hardly is anything to see: the area is mostly flat and the figures are of a size that makes it impossible to see them whole from this perspective.
From an airplane, however, they are clearly distinguishable. There are a monkey, a spider, a colibri, even a human figure (often called the “astronaut”).

Of course, over time, erosion must have taken a toll on the lines which are believed to be more than 2000 years old.

By the way, while the lines at Nazca are the most famous ones, there are others in South America, such as the Atacama Giant in Chile, which can be clearly seen from the ground.

According to a CNN report, many new, even bigger and older geoglyphs have been found near Paracas - actually quite close to the Nazca lines.

More:
National Geographic on the Nazca lines: “Ancient, Giant Images Found Carved Into Peru Desert“.
Here is an interesting account by someone who visited the Nazca lines several months before me.

A Spanish blog notes that the lines have now been recorded digitally - a way to preserve them for the foreseeable future and maybe the analysis of the data will yield further insights?!

December 4, 2004

Reed Boat, Uros Islands, Lago Titicaca (Peru)

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 8:32 pm

Uro-indian steering a boat on lake Titicaca
One of the “must sees” on Lago Titicaca are the artificial “islands of the Uros”, made of marsh reeds (totora).
The tradition of constructing such islands dates back to times well before the Inca empire.
The original inhabitants were believed to have black blood and other magical qualities.
When they started to mix with the neighbouring Aymara tribes, however, they were no longer regarded with awe.
Today, the inhabitants of the floating islands no longer are Uros but people from other Indian cultures who speak Aymara or Quechua.
The totora reeds are also used to produce boats such as the one sown on this picture.
The famous Norwegian adventurer/anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl asked Uros from Lago Titicaca to help him with the construction of his reed boat Ra II with which he eventually crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Although many boats are obviously mainly constructed for the entertainment of the tourist crowds, you can still see many families use them as the traditional means of transport.

more Peru-photos

By the way: I also saw floating islands in Xochimilco, Mexico.

November 28, 2004

Fields and mountains at Moray

Filed under: — lbobke @ 3:16 pm

Fields and Mountains, near Cusco
A few steps from the enigmatic circular terraces at Moray (near Cuzco, Peru), the landscape has a distinct “north Italian” quality, except for the Andes in the background, of course.

November 23, 2004

Saqsayhuamán

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 10:45 pm

Saqsayhuamán fortress, near Cusco
Just outside Cuzco, the huge granite fortress built by the Incas is a truly magical place.
It is said that Cuzco and surroundings were designed in the shape of a Puma with the fortress of Saqsayhuamán (or “Saqsaywaman”) as the Pumas teeth.
The individual stones are already huge, but the scale of the whole site is absolutely breathtaking.

November 14, 2004

Plaza de Armas, Cuzco (Peru)

Filed under: — Laurenz @ 11:12 pm


I have just finished scanning pictures from Cuzco (Peru).
The Peru-pages are far from finished, but visitors who are really interested can already have a preview.

November 7, 2004

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa

Filed under: — site admin @ 1:41 pm

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru
The main square of Arequipa at night.

November 5, 2004

Machu Picchu

Filed under: — site admin @ 9:01 pm

terraces, Machu Picchu
Terraces in Machu Picchu, Peru.

October 31, 2004

Machu Picchu Llamas

Filed under: — site admin @ 3:21 pm

Llama in Machu Picchu
There are some tame llamas in the terraces above Machu Picchu - presumably to provide tourists with a nice foreground for the photographs?

October 30, 2004

Sunrise in Machu Picchu

Filed under: — site admin @ 9:26 pm

Sunrise in Machu-Picchu
It is advisable to take the first bus up to Machu Picchu and be there before sunrise.
At this time there is already surprisingly much light and the place is truly magical.

October 26, 2004

Titicaca Lake

Filed under: — site admin @ 7:03 pm

Lago Titicaca after sunrise (Peru)
The Titicaca lake seen in the early morning from a boat.



    

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All photos on Travelphoto NET: Copyright Laurenz Bobke. Copyright for the photos on the Outstanding Travel Photos blog: the individual photographer
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