Three kilometers from Torotoro, the ground suddenly drops away into an immense and spectacularly beautiful canyon, more than 250m deep. From the mirador (lookout) at the top you can gaze along it, watching vultures wheeling. The cliffside here is also home to the rare paraba frente roja (Red-fronted macaw), which you have a good chance of seeing, or at least hearing.
From here, following the diminishing canyon along to the left, you come to a flight of 800 stairs that lead down to El Vergel (also called Huacasenq’a, meaning ‘cow’s nostrils’ in Quechua), which always has water and is filled with incongruous mosses, vines and other tropical vegetation. At the bottom a crystal-clear river tumbles down through cascades and waterfalls, forming idyllic swimming pools.
