Kuelap is an ancient and truly magnificent structure. The only place that can really compare to its size, mystery and grandeur is the Sanctuary of MachuPicchu, but even then, Kuelap is at least twice as old and quite a bit bigger- it is estimated to contain 3 times more material than Egypt’s largest pyramid!

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The Andean Condor has come to be known as a symbol of grace and majesty in Peru and other countries of South America. Its feathers, bones and eyes are said to possess magical properties, and it has been used by native peoples for centuries in shamanism and medicine. It has inspired songs, including the […]

Who has not been enchanted by photos or sightings of these iridescent mini-rockets of energy known as hummingbirds? They were described by the Aztec as tiny suns, and have been accorded their place in legend, story and song throughout the centuries. People have called them flying jewels; most male hummingbirds possess iridescent gorgets, or throat […]

Camelids are even-toed ungulates: hoofed mammals, distinguished by their elongated double-toed splayed feet. They are mostly large, plant-eating animals that differ from ruminants, such as cows and sheep, in several important ways: they have a three- chambered stomach (as opposed to four), a divided upper lip with each half separately mobile, a tooth in the […]

Animals are considered endangered when they are at risk of extinction, either because there are only a small number of them left, due to threats from changes to their environment, shifting of predator to prey ratios, and other factors. Nations over the last 50 years have developed laws to protect species form becoming extinct; however […]

A hot spring is formed when water that is heated underground returns to the surface of the earth. In some areas, magma or lava has worked its way up through Earth’s crust. These hot rocks sit at shallow depths beneath Earth’s surface. Water that seeps downward into these hot zones is heated by the fiery […]