Three kilometers from Torotoro, the ground 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. From here, following the diminishing canyon 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.
In addition to the mirador, there's a semicircle viewpoint pitched vertiginously out and over the canyon. The cliffsides here are home to the rare paraba frente roja (red-fronted macaw), which you have a good chance of seeing, or at least hearing. At the bottom, a crystal-clear river tumbles down through cascades and waterfalls, forming idyllic swimming pools. Ask your guide to return via the longer alternative path, so as to avoid climbing the same 800 steps back to the top.
If walking and not going all the way to the falls, guides cost only around B$100.
