Peru's adventure swing gives riders a bird's eye view
Skip Kaltenheuser got a turkey vulture’s-eye view of some dramatic northern Peruvian scenery, thanks to adventure centre Donce Extremo.
American journalist Kaltenheuser, in the Peruvian jurisdiction of Amazonas with Peruvian tourism board PromPeru for a tourism show, was among show participants who visited area Donce Extremo, which among other things invites clients to scale a hillside tower, and then from it work their way forwards and backwards on a swing that has them soaring well over 100 metres above a valley.
But law school graduate Kaltenheuser, who at one point used to visit inmates in a maximum security prison, said after his daring feat that all the strapping in by Donce Extremo staff before being sent off the edge of the tower on the back-and-forth and up-and-down experience did provide a certain “hangman feel,” telling himself that “this must be what it’s like” for those on scaffolds.
Donce Extremo has no shortage of adventurous options for visitors, with other experiences including tandem ziplines and opportunities to rappel down a steep incline. Another option is crossing two suspension bridges.
Much of northern Peru is dramatically mountainous, with Peruvian tourism authorities promoting it to those interested in adventure tourism. However, the region tends to be bypassed by international tourists, who generally head for more southerly destinations, such as Cusco and Machu Picchu.
PromPeru hosted a tourism show in northern Peru last fall dedicated to outdoor and adventure tourism to boost the area’s profile. Turkey vultures can often be spotted in the Donce Extremo area, with one wag in Kaltenheuser’s group joking that the carrion-feeding birds eat dead animals and “sometimes people who fall” from one of the Donce Extremo experiences.
Meanwhile, Kaletenheuser suggested after returning to terra firma that if he was ever to be hanged, the Donce Extremo location wouldn’t be that bad an option.
“It really is a nice last view,” he suggested of the setting.
