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Alto Andino Nature
Tours
Wildflower trips & Botanizing: extreme northern Chile
extreme alpine plants, cushion bogs, Polylepis, Atacama
Desert, Cactus scrub, tola grasslands
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Native plant habitats we visit from sea level to 4,800 m:
Cactus
scrub & pre-puna shrublands from the Atacama Desert to above Putre
Cushion
bogs & altiplano wetlands: altiplano alpine tundra
Andean "alpine" rock gardens
tola - grassland (resinous shrubs & Festuca, Stipa bunchgrass)
remnant Polylepis copses
Atacama Desert arroyos & washes, Prosopis tamarugo restoration
projects
"Extreme tropical alpine" slopes near 4,800 masl
Lluta, San Jose, Lauca, Isluga rivers, Taipicagua gorge (riparian)
New Blog:
Andean Desert Gardening & Village Life
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The best thing that
happened in 2011: Rain, and lots of it, in
the most arid parts of the Atacama Desert just
at the right time. You had to be here to believe it!
Oldtimers who noted the pattern of unseasonal
nightly freezes in October predict another extreme
rainy season. As of Dec 30 2011
we've had 2 weeks of rain and fog, with rain
reported at the site of this photo. The
time to come is late February, March, April and May,
although in August of 2011 we had 2 species of
Nolana and also the endemic
Malesherbia auristipulata still in full
bloom. Note
that the flowering desert in the extreme north
occurs as the result of Bolivian Winter, meaning
that the timing of our flowering desert does not
coincide with that of the flowering desert in
the lower Atacama.
Nolana, Exodeconus,
Cistanthe, Cristaria, Tetragonia, Gilia....glorious!
Some of the Nolana were still in bloom in
October 2011.
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Wildflower
Samplers Arica to Lauca |
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December
December-March
March-April
May |
Cushion Bog in
Parque Nacional
Lauca
Alpine plants in Lauca
Parinacota Province pre-puna flora
Atacama
Desert arroyo
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Suggested
3-5 day wildflower itinerary, depending on season:
Day 1: Start in Arica. Native vegetation of the transverse
lowland valleys, Atacama Desert arroyos, cactus scrub, precordillera
pre-puna gorges and pampas. OV Putre
Day
2: Parque Nacional Lauca altiplano cushion bogs, tola grassland,
altiplano tundra, riparian. Lago Chungara, Chucullo
bog. OV Putre
Day
3: Parque Nacional Lauca "extreme" tropical alpines,
then OV Putre, or take 5 pm bus or tour van back to Arica.
As usual we
suggest an additional day for altitude acclimatization, a "free
day" in the pueblo of Putre,
where there are abundant native plants within
easy walking distance of town.
At times we extend the tour to Parque Nacional
Volcán Isluga to see the cacti,
including Echinopsis,
Cumulopuntia, "Lobivia", etc. Another extention
would be a 5th day touring the mid-level desert areas close to the
coastal range, Prosopis tamarugo, desert oases, etc.
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It's that time of
year again, once the rains start in December the bulbs start to pop up. For years we
knew this stunning geophyte as Stenomesson chilense, Amaryllidaceae, a family undergoing taxonomic review again.
Recently it has
been included in the genus Clinanthus or could end up in Pyrolirion.
Keep tuned.
After the flowers appear in December, the leaves follow and then seeds in
March. We have found this bulb in scarce populations up to 3,860 masl here on the Pacific slope of the central Andes, above the
Atacama Desert.
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tions for wildflowers that cover the
extreme north of Chile, so Barb is compling a photographic catalog of
the vegetation of the first 2 regions, a ongoing project begun in 1996.
The catalog, arranged taxonomically, will be available on tours but is
not available commercially. 
In addition we are
composing a roadside site guide for use along the road system,
which will be available for use in our 2012 botanical guide service.