Customized,
private tours throughout Lauca National Park and northern Chile are guided by
naturalist Barbara Knapton
and other professional guides.
Chile is a safe country with a
wealth of national parks, plus warm, friendly
people.
Even if you don't plan a trip to the
Atacama Desert in the near future, be sure to
enjoy the numerous "nature pages"
that Barb has enjoyed preparing for the Alto Andino web
site. |
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. Of course 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. |
