Las Vicuñas National Reserve, Nature reserve in Parinacota Province, Chile
Las Vicuñas National Reserve is a protected area in the Andes featuring steppes, rivers, and mountains with peaks exceeding 5,500 meters (18,000 feet). The reserve covers approximately 209,000 hectares and displays the sparse, rocky landscape typical of Chile's highest regions.
The reserve was established in 1983 as a protected area and forms part of the larger Lauca Biosphere Reserve. This designation connected it with neighboring Lauca National Park and Salar de Surire Natural Monument into a unified conservation system.
Aymara communities have inhabited these high mountains for centuries, building stone altars and ceremonial structures on summit ridges that remain visible today. The presence of these sites shows how local people understood the peaks as sacred spaces within their landscape.
The reserve can be reached via the Panamericana Highway between Iquique and Tacna or through International Route CH-11 connecting Bolivia and Arica. Visitors should prepare for extreme altitude, cold temperatures, and minimal facilities due to the remote location.
The reserve shelters colonies of vicunas, wild camelids that thrive in extreme altitude and survive on sparse vegetation. The area also hosts Polylepis tomentella, a woody plant that grows at some of the highest elevations where trees can survive.
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