UNESCO Global Geoparks mission conducts a site visit at Colca Canyon and Valley of Volcanoes in southern Arequipa region as part of the site's bid to become Peru's very first geopark.
UNESCO evaluators Ilias Valiakos and Maurizio Burlando, who arrived on Monday in
Arequipa, are in charge of a 3-day field evaluation to gather further details on the aspiring geopark's application.
Their visit schedule covers an overfly of the Valley of Volcanoes in Andagua (Castilla province), a tour around the site's lookout points, as well as visits to the local population and heritage interpretation centers.
Afterwards, the UNESCO experts will proceed with their visit to the districts of Chivay, Yanque, Coporaque, Achoma, Maca and Pinchollo joined by local authorities, Foreign Trade and Tourism Regional Manager Miguel Apaza indicated.
Information collected at the site will be submitted for assessment to UNESCO, which is due to issue its decision next year.
If granted the
UNESCO geopark status, the site would be known as the "Colca Canyon and Valley of Volcanoes Geopark," Apaza said.
The national application was submitted last November by Arequipa's Regional Government, Caylloma Province Municipality, Colca Autonomous Authority (Autocolca), National Institute of Geology, Mining and Metallurgy (Ingemmet), among other institutions.
Geopark project
Aspiring geoparks must have geological and geomorphological international value, a requirement the
Colca Canyon certainly meets with its 4,160-meter depth and over 400 million years of geological history.
The same can be said of the Valley of Volcanoes, which saw the last eruption of the Quaternary period that left 25 monogenetic volcanic cones.
The Colca Canyon and Valley of Volcanoes also boast rich flora and fauna, as well as Andean terraces, woods, snow-capped peaks, archaeological sites and other tourist hooks.
(END) RMC/LZD/MAO/DHT/MVB