Arica, Lauca National Park, Chungara, Parinacota
Trip Start
Jan 26, 2000
1
11
30
Trip End
Jun 14, 2000
Arica,
Chile
Tuesday, April 4, 2000
Arica was totally different from anything in the south. In many ways it reminded me of a Mediterranean town, hot days and warm evenings where you could sit on the terraces sipping your beer and watching the world go by. Interestingly it never rained in Arica, some of the population had never seen the rain. From Arica we did a day tour which would lead us up to the high Altiplano and Lauca National Park. The tour took us through some beautifully green oasis towns in the middle of the desert, and passed some 3 metre high candle stick cactus, some of which were 300 to 400 years old. For me the highlight was the twin volcanoes of Chungara and Parinacota, situated in a beautiful location on the edge of Lago Chungara, at 4600m (15000ft) this was the tallest lake in the world. To the north east of this lake we could also see Volcan Sajama, at 6500M (21000ft) this was the highest peak in Bolivia. Besides these gigantic snow capped volcanoes the park was packed with interesting wildlife, vicuņa and guanaco together with there domesticated cousins llama and alpaca. We also saw flamingoes, condors, viscacha (a bit like chinchillas) and countless other bird species. Lauca was the first place I've really seen the indigenous people of the high Altiplano and it wasn't long before I purchased an alpaca hat, I could see all my western clothes would be replaces by lots of alpaca clothing by the end of the trip. Oh well at least I'd fit in with all the other backpackers.
