Sondondo Valley

The Sondondo valley runs south of Puquio through country terraced so completely that whole hillsides are stepped from the river to the ridge - the Andamarca terraces are among the largest surviving pre-Inca agricultural systems in Peru, still irrigated and farmed, forming curved amphitheatres several hundred metres high. Condors are reliably seen at the Mirador de Mayobamba and other lookouts over the gorge. The villages, Andamarca, Cabana, Aucará, are built in stone with colonial churches, and the valley has a particular literary weight: Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, whose thousand-page illustrated letter to the King of Spain from around 1615 is the single most important indigenous account of the conquest and its aftermath, came from this area, and the writer José María Arguedas spent part of his childhood here. It is off the standard tourist circuit and infrastructure is basic.

What you actually see

• The terraces - stepped hillsides several hundred metres high, still farmed.
• The condor viewpoints - Mayobamba and other lookouts over the gorge.
• The stone villages - Andamarca, Cabana and Aucará with colonial churches.
• The literary connection - the home region of Guamán Poma and part of Arguedas's childhood.

When to go

May to September for roads and clear weather. Condors are most active mid-morning. Two to four days; the valley is spread out and worth more than a day trip.

Honest expectations

Long, rough journeys from Nazca or Puquio. Accommodation is basic and limited. Villages sit between 3,000 and 3,500 metres. There is little formal interpretation - a guide from the valley makes a large difference.

Nearby

Puquio is north; Pampas Galeras and the Nazca road are beyond it.