ROAD PLANNER |

VERSION ESPAÑOL VERSÃO EM PORTUGUÊS

LAGUNA BRAVA

The provincial reserve Laguna Brava aims to protect the Vicuña. But there is much more to discover in this shocking place: salt fields, herbal steppe, clear skies, intense sun and perfect silence. All of this together in a 50 miles wide strip, parallel to the border with Chile and in the way to the next International passage Pircas Negras.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE: It´s located in the Andes, surrounded by peaks of Andean giants such as Bonete Grande (6,872 meters), Pissis (6,779 meters), Veladero and Bonete Chico. The reserve is spread over the provincial departments of Vinchina and Gral. Lamadrid, occupying a total area of 4,500 square kilometers, with altitudes ranging from 2,000 meters to 4,000 meters above sea level. The weather is Andean-Puna (relentless aridity). Its temperature variations are from 25 degrees Celsius during the day, to 10 degrees below zero Celsius at night. Access during winter is dangerous and nearly impossible.

WILDLIFE: Despite the extreme climate and aridity conditions, the reserve has a permanent fauna made up of vicuna, guanaco, flamingos, American pumas, Andean pigeons, ducks, eagles and hawks, there are also several species of lizards. But beyond any doubt one of the top attractions of the reserve are flamingos with pink and white plumage, waterfowl and gregarious, large in size and long legged, with thick peak (as it would be broken down) especially suited for getting from water or mud the basis of their food: crustaceans and small aquatic insects. These birds perform winter migrations to lower sites, but arrive to the Reserve with the mild temperatures of early spring, not just to form large colonies but also for reproducing.

THE LAGOON: The reserve takes the name of the most important water mirror in the region: ""The Laguna Brava"", with absolutely brackish waters that does not exceed 80 centimeters deep, with an extension of 17 km long and 4 km wide. Its name and various Andean legends attached to this Lagoon give it a braveness that certainly lacks, ""but if it does not accept the visit of strangers"" as saying of locals “it reacts causing unexpected storms"". In the surroundings are other lagoons: ""Mulas Muertas”, ""Del Veladero"", ""Verde"", and other circumstantial ones occurring with the thaw and that lasts between 3 to 4 months until fall comes again.

CULTURE SHELTER: The importance of the Provincial Reserve not only goes back to the protection of indigenous fauna and flora. Besides being a natural heritage of great significance it also constitutes an invaluable contribution to the culture and history of the country: Between the years 1864/1873, the President of the Nation at that time, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, ordered the construction of a number of shelters ( 13 in total) along the way, for sheltering and harboring the people leading beef cattle and sheep from La Rioja, Catamarca and San Juan bound for Chile, in exhausting and dangerous voyages of 15 to 20 days through the Cordillera. There are many cases of passengers who could not get to complete the trip; perhaps the most famous of all is ""The uncovered,"" whose tomb, next to one of the shelters, used to appear always uncovered despite it was constantly closed by other travelers. There is also in the Reserve another very important historical heritage: The Veladero Volcano, it was found in its summit an Inca ceremonial platform. In the first expedition to this summit it was found in excellent state of preservation a cane and some braids that dated about 900 years old. Also in the surroundings of the Laguna Brava there are still kept remains of the sanctuaries of holy water and fertility rites.


Rutas y ciudades alrededor de Laguna Brava

Last Minute Offers