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Chile's Atacama
Desert:
Providing
tours for birders, photographers, wildflower enthusiasts and naturalists since 1994 |
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Tours, guide service, accommodations
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What's
New
Birding, natural history,
and photography in Lauca Park.
Botanizing,
Atacama Desert and Alpine habitats
Altiplano and Atacama Desert wildlife and culture tour
Naturalist
guide service in the
client's vehicle.
B & B Casa
Barbarita, a cozy rental home in Putre.
New Tour: "Chile's
north, in Depth"
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Emphasis on guide service |
In Parque Nacional Lauca and throughout northern Chile
you are guided by
naturalist Barbara Knapton. We concentrate on wildlife and habitats from sea to altiplano
with the special attractions being the Atacama Desert and
altiplano parks and
reserves. Choose an itinerary or write for more
customized options. Tours are private.
Chile is a safe country with a
wealth of protected natural areas and many archeological sites, plus warm, friendly
people. Even if you don't plan a trip to the
Atacama Desert in the near future, be sure to
check out the numerous nature pages
that Barb has enjoyed preparing for the Alto Andino
site. |
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Two volcanoes dominate the landscape in Parque Nacional Lauca:
Pomerape to the left, and Parinacota, right. Parina means flamingo
in the native Aymara language, and "cota" means
lake. Parinacota, a potentially active volcano, is an
example of the many imposing land forms in this area of the Andes that
are named after birds. At 6,348 masl, it surpasses Mt. McKinley by more
than 150 meters. ©
B. Knapton
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Protected
areas in
northern Chile:
National Parks, Reserves, Monuments,
some places
we visit
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Biosphere
Reserve Parque Nacional Lauca
Parque Nacional Volcan Isluga
Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas
Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal
Ramsar Site 873: Natural Monument Salar de Surire
Ramsar Sire 874: Salar de Huasco
Reserva Natural Municipal Desembocadura del Rio Lluta Plus:
Arica, Iquique, and the Atacama Desert oases
Humboldt Current, Atacama fishing villages and seacoasts |
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The
Andes of northern Chile: why so interesting?
At 18° S latitude, the life zones in this
part of the tropics change dramatically as one climbs
from sea level at Arica or Iquique through the Atacama Desert to
Lauca and the other altiplano
parks. There are few places in the world
where it's possible to climb, in the comfort of modern
transportation, from sea level to over 15,000' in just a few
hours.
As the life zones change one
sees different birds, mammals, and plants in each
particular steppe of elevation from seabirds to
flamingos, from cetaceans to camelids, from olive groves
to exquisite alpine wildflowers. Of particular interest
are the high Andes and desert habitats and the adaptations the
wildlife and plants have acquired for living in
this zone of low atmospheric pressure, intense solar
radiation, and extreme arid climate.
Left, the Rio Lluta carves
a swath through the Atacama Desert near Arica.
Below left, an oasis in the Atacama Desert which provides a microhabitat
for producing small quantities of a specialty wine made from small black
grapes.
These so-called
"transverse valleys", sometimes extending from the coast all
the way up to the
precordillera and altiplano, serve as migration corridors for birds, and
of course for humans too. It's
theorized that certain hummingbirds make use of these migration
corridors to utilize the flowers of cacti and other plants that bloom in
the precordillera just before, and just after the rainy season. |
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