Yanque

Yanque sits at 3,400 metres on the Colca road, and its church, the Inmaculada Concepción, is the finest in the valley - an eighteenth-century facade in white sillar carved with columns, saints and dense ornament, rebuilt after earthquakes, with a decorated interior and a small museum of religious art alongside. On the square each morning, before the tour vehicles head down to the condor viewpoint, young people from the village dance the wititi in costume, which is partly for visitors and partly a way the tradition is kept up and taught. Yanque also has thermal pools by the river below and the Uyo Uyo archaeological site across the water. The valley's terracing, some of it pre-Inca and still farmed, is visible from the village in every direction. It is quieter than Chivay and a reasonable base for the Colca.

What you actually see

• The church - an eighteenth-century carved sillar facade, the best in the valley.
• The morning dancing - the wititi performed on the square in costume.
• The terraces - pre-Inca agricultural steps still farmed around the village.
• The thermal pools - hot springs by the river below the village.

When to go

April to November for road and weather. Morning for the dancing on the square, before the condor traffic passes. Two to three hours, or stay overnight as a Colca base.

Honest expectations

The morning dance is staged for visitors, and payment for photographs is expected. The church is often locked outside service times. At 3,400 metres it is cold at night. The Colca tourist ticket is charged separately.

Nearby

Uyo Uyo is across the river; Chivay is east and the Cruz del Cóndor west.