Wednesday, 22 October 2014

The wonder of nature at Luca National Park, Chile

We have seen many National Parks in the USA and fabulous nature all over the world. Luca National Park is enormous and we didn't have any expectations. Nature surprised us, a place we never heard of before, blew us away. Luca National Park must be one of the most impressive nature reserves in the world and almost no one in Europe has heard about it. How is this possible?

The Andes mountain region at Luca National Park is beautiful but you have to be careful of the height. You start your trip at sea level in Arica and within a few hours you are 4.600 meters high. Some people in the bus needed additional oxygen and were feeling unwell. People in good physical health should not fear anything when they are cautious. Remain calm and don't start running when getting out of your vehicle.

The pictures say it all. What is there to see? Well next to the traffic between Chile and Bolivia with many hairpin curves: mountains, deserts, volcanoes, ice, snow, lakes and incredible landscapes. You also see animals like many types of birds, pecuñas and Caviscaya rabbits. Overall an amazing day trip.

Take into account that the only road between Bolivia and the Pacific Ocean runs through Luca National Park. As a consequence there are many trucks passing by so please be careful when crossing the road. Some people focus so much on the exceptional landscape that they don't see the approaching traffic.

We hebben reeds vele Nationale Parken in de VS en fantastische natuur wereldwijd gezien. Luca National Park is enorm groot en we hadden geen verwachtingen. De natuur verraste ons, een plaats waarvan we nog nooit hadden gehoord, beroerde ons. Luca National Park is één van de indrukwekkendste natuurgebieden ter wereld en bijna niemand in Europa heeft hier weet van. Hoe is dit mogelijk?

Het Andes gebergte in deze regio is prachtig maar let op voor de hoogte. Je vangt je trip aan op zeeniveau in Arica en een paar uur later ben je op een hoogte van 4.600 meter. Sommige bezoekers voelen zich onwel of hebben extra zuurstof nodig. Mensen in goede conditie en gezondheid hoeven niets te vrezen maar opletten is steeds noodzakelijk. Blijf kalm en ga niet lopen als je uit de auto stapt.

De foto's vertellen je alles. Wat is er te zien? Wel naast het verkeer met de vele haarspeldbochten: bergen, woestijnen, vulkanen, ijs, sneeuw, meren en ongelooflijke landschappen. Je komt er ook dieren tegen zoals vele soorten vogels, pecuñas en Caviscaya konijnen. Een adembenemende dagexcursie. 

Hou er rekening mee dat de enige weg tussen Bolivia en de Stille Oceaan door Luca National loopt. Als gevolg rijden hier heel veel vrachtwagens dus wees zeer voorzichtig als je de straat oversteekt. Sommige mensen zijn zo aangetrokken door het landschap dat ze het aankomend verkeer niet zien.
 
Luca National Park Chile entrance

Luca National Park Chile green swamps

Luca National Park Chile pecuñas

Luca National Park Chile

Luca National Park Chile green life

Luca National Park Chile Caviscaya

Luca National Park Chile

Luca National Park Chile mountains

Luca National Park Chile ice capped volcanoes

Luca National Park Chile volcanoes

Luca National Park Chile volcanoes

Luca National Park Chile road to Bolivia

Luca National Park Chile smoking volcanoe

Luca National Park Chile living 4.000 metres high

Luca National Park Chile ice and snow

Luca National Park Chile weird

Luca National Park Chile scary swamp

Previous Chile article: Centre Artisanal de Los Dominicos, Santiago de Chile

Previous National Park article: Mahogany Hammock and Pa-Hay-okee overlook at Everglades National Park

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14 comments:

  1. those are some great views of the mountains in Chile

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  2. wow. some rough, natural terrain!

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  3. Your mountain pictures are fabulous! And unexpected things, like the art in the middle of nowhere. This little animal reminds me of the rock badgers that the bible speaks of. What is the brilliant green amidst the rocks?? Moss?

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  4. I wonder if that is a guanaco rather than a llama - the green stuff in the rocks is very unusual it looks almost like fungi it is so smooth and solid looking.

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  5. This is a place that I would love to visit someday!!!!

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  6. I really like that photos of the snow on the mountains as I don't see that here.

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  7. wow.....you managed to capture so many special pics

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  8. What an amazing scene this is, and what a great mountain. Looks like Denali, or bigger. Never a good idea to run at that altitude. I remember having tried that once myself. Not a good idea. Bet this scenery was a truly big surprise.

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  9. Incredible views of a fabulous landscape!

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  10. Prachtige foto's Filip, het lijkt mij een bijzondere ervaring om dit te zien.

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  11. Oh my, what incredible photos, thanks so much for sharing. It is a lovely location, a most wonderful step into nature.

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  12. het lijkt me daar adembenemend mooi!

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  13. Filip ik heb er weer genoten van deze serie. Gelukkig heb ik nooit last van hoogteziekte gehad toen ik door de Himalaya in Ladakh (5.000m) ben getrokken. Groetjes Dietmut

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