Mountains & Culture: The Bolivia/ Central Andes Project

Join us this summer for a vigorous traverse of the Central Andes, from the upper tributaries of the Bolivian Amazon, over the high plains and mountains, and finally to the desert coast of Chile. In our exploration through the physical and cultural heart of South America, we will have the chance to study unique geographical features, including Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world), Sajama (the highest mountain in Bolivia), the Atacama desert (one of the driest places on earth), and the Yungas (tropical foothills) which support some of South America’s highest biological diversity. We visit a diversity of ecosystems including coastal and high-elevation desert, tropical montane forests, cloud forests, inter-Andean valleys, puna grasslands and alpine paramo under the majestic Andean peaks with perennial snowfields and glaciers. While the highest peaks reach upwards of 20,000 feet and are perhaps most identified with the Andean condor, we also have the opportunity to investiage other endemic flora and fauna like the vicuna, a wild relative of the alpaca, the Andean (or Spectacled) Bear, the viscacha, a larger relative of the charismatic chinchilla, and many other animals. These landscapes also provide prime habitat for studying birdlife, including three species of flamingos and many tropical migrants. This area is also home to a variety of Quechua and Aymara indigenous cultures, many living subsistence lifestyles, whose roots trace back to ancient cultures including the Tiwanaku and Incan Empires.

The Central Andes is the ideal location to immerse ourselves in the diverse and extreme ecosystems present in South America, its thriving traditional cultures, and its ancient cultural roots. By crossing the Central Andes from the Bolivian yungas to the Chilean coast, students will have the opportunity to learn about the natural history and ecology of the Amazon-influenced yungas, the high Andes, the Atacama desert, and coastal Chile. By crossing the Andes, and visiting various protected areas along the way, students will observe and compare Bolivia and Chile’s approaches to conservation through national parks and reserves, the role of local and international conservation organizations, and the conservation issues that face this biogeographically, biologically, and culturally diverse area. The Bolivia/Central Andes project will also enable students to compare the socio-economic and political status and problems in these two countries.

Project members will explore and evaluate the environmental and social challenges the Central Andean region faces in view of local and global economic pressures. Our team will trek through the remote communities and forests of the Central Andes of Bolivia and Chile while investigating the natural and cultural history, geology, ecology, and the conservation of both natural and human-altered landscapes.

THE PROJECT

The first portion of the project will take place in Bolivia, starting in the eastern tropical foothills (yungas) and inter-Andean valleys, allowing time to acclimatize before heading to higher elevations in Bolivia and Chile and finally to the Chilean coast. During the first week of the course, students may visit a variety of sites within the biologically rich yungas and valleys, including areas where coffee, chocolate, bananas, and grapes are grown amongst native, tropical vegetation.

We will then travel to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake on earth, where we will immerse ourselves in the altiplano. We will spend time hiking within this spectacular landscape, and have the opportunity to live among small subsistence farming communities on the shores of Lake Titicaca. By living with local families, project members will be able to learn (or improve) their Spanish language skills and participate fully in the lifestyles of Aymara and Quechua peoples that to this day still farm potatoes, quinoa (an Andean grain high in protein), and raise livestock, llamas, and alpacas using practices that are little changed from pre-Incan times.

One of the cultural highlights of the project is a visit to the area of Charazani to visit the homeland of the Kallawaya, itinerant herbal healers of the Andes. These healers use medicinal plants and conduct rituals to honor the earth. Women and men create beautiful and detailed hand woven textiles that to this day are still worn by the majority of rural community members. Participants will have a chance to learn from some of these healers and weavers as well as listen to traditional music played on pan flutes, drums and wind instruments, while trekking through the Andean valleys and altiplano surrounding Charazani.



Our field research, coordinated with local experts, will focus largely on high-elevation queñua (Polylepis spp., in the rose family), woodlands, one of the most important and charismatic species found in the cloud forests. These trees (many different species) form the highest elevation forests on earth, reaching over 15,700 feet and are often gnarled and wind-twisted into aesthetic forms, caused by the harsh environmental conditions. These mossy woodlands shape the headwaters of the Amazon River basin and are also the sole habitat for several endemic and rare species of birds. These birds are a primary reason that Polylepis woodlands are currently a conservation priority in the region. The forests also serve as important resources of fuelwood for cooking and heating, and local communities must strike a careful balance between conservation and ongoing resource use. Field research will be conducted throughout our time at montane sites in Bolivia as well as at the two national parks we will be visiting.

On the border of Bolivia and Chile we will spend some time conducting field studies in Sajama National Park. Here we will study the Park’s unique species as well as the surrounding volcanoes, wildlife, and vegetation. Next, we will make our way over to Lauca National Park (in Chile) an impressive landscape of tall peaks, high-altitude desert, salt flats, and alpine lakes sometimes dotted with flamingoes. Here we will have the opportunity to see much of the Andean wildlife and will discuss and experience first-hand the costs and benefits of ecotourism in this culturally rich and ecologically fragile landscape. Students will also be able to compare and contrast conservation strategies and national park management in these two parks, lying just across the international border from each other.

Finally, we will descend through the Atacama desert to Chile’s northernmost city, Arica, an important fishing center and port where we will visit the nearby Azapa and Lluta river valleys, renowned for their olive trees and agriculture in one of the driest deserts on earth. This region once belonged to Peru and Bolivia, and prior to that was home to several ancient cultures (both Incan and pre-Incan) which thrived within the river valleys. We will then travel back to the La Paz region, where the project will conclude.

Additional topics we will cover in our lectures, discussion, meetings, and field research include water conservation and the implications of climate change for the Central Andes, where it is unlikely that any glaciers will persist beyond the end of this century.

By the end of the project each of us will have gained direct experience conducting ecological field studies in a magnificent part of South America, and a new appreciation for knowledgeable stewards of these rugged Andean landscapes—the indigenous Aymara and Quechua mountain peoples of the Andes.  Additional In-country Expense:  $1,950

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