We spent three days and two nights hiking in Colca Canyon, staying in tiny guest homes tucked into remote mountain villages. Colca is one of the deepest canyons in the world, reaching a depth of 4,160 meters (13,650 feet)—for comparison, the Grand Canyon in the U.S. is about 1,829 meters (6,000 feet) deep. The beauty here is striking, though very different!

Each day involved 5–6 hours of hiking, filled with steep, dusty, and sometimes slippery ascents and descents that left us completely wiped by the afternoon. We’d arrive at our guest homes ready to rest our legs and enjoy a well-earned lunch. At one of the guesthouses, Austin found a tiny scorpion in our room—so we had a little uninvited roommate for a bit. Neither of us were thrilled about it, ha!

The canyon views were consistently beautiful, but I was surprised by how many roads have been built throughout the area. Selfishly, I didn’t love seeing them along the trail—and sometimes a passing car would kick up dust as we hiked. Still, those roads are important and useful for the mountain villages, providing access to food and supplies, so they serve an important purpose.