The Colca Canyon is a brown place. In rainy season the flowers bloom and there’s plenty of green, but the overall color is brown, punctuated by pretty white churches in the village centers.

When I left the Orient-Express Casitas del Colca hotel and the driver began the journey back to Arequipa, however, I had a stroke of terrific luck.

As we eased our way through Chivay, going slowly because of all the pedestrians, “Stop!” I said suddenly. Before the driver could say no, I was out of the car with my camera, getting close to the action in the town square.

As so often happens in Latin America, it was festival time. Stay long enough and you’re bound to run into one. I was there in early December, which coincides with the big Wititi Festival.

Instead of earth tones, it was time for a riot of color. Beautiful costumes, dancing, and marching bands. This is Peru at its finest.

See more on luxury tours in Peru.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 11:38 am and is filed under Peru, Travel life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.