Peru: Colca Valley – Historic Churches
Colca Valley has several absolutely stunning villages that seem like stopped in time. There’s hardly more then a handful houses, but each village has a large central square and a grandiose white-washed centuries-old church. The best village was Yanque with a backdrop of two volcanoes behind it and one spewing ash as it became active last fall. The beautiful snow-white Church of Immaculate Conception is an absolute gem in and out – with beautifully carved entrances and dozens of wooden dolls inside. Another pretty village was Maca, with its own whitewashed Santa Ana Church and a plaza nearby with colorful women and equally colorful baby alpacas.
