Vicuna, hiking the hills

Home  One of the great joys of hanging out in Vicuņa has been tramping the

hills near my hostel.  Put on some comfortable shoes and walk with me a bit.

 

 

 

First a preview

Several photos taken from near my hostel

 

 

 

Here you begin to see the incredible network of trails that are available

 

 

 

The hill on the right is the Hill of the Virgin

There is indeed a statue of her there, surrounded by high-tech towers

 

 

 

Once you crest the ridge, look West and see the trails...

 

 

 

...look East at the trails...

 
 

 

 

 

...look back down toward Vicuņa...

 

Trails everywhere

 

 

 

 

Across the ridge from Vicuņa, another valley

 

 

 

The town of Vicuņa, which is in the Elqui River Valley

 

 

 

 

And across the valley, the Andes cordillera

 

 

 

Another view of the Elqui Valley

 

 

A panorama of the valley, with Vicuņa

 

 

A panorama of the valley on the other side of the ridge

 

 

A panorama of the Elqui Valley to the West of Vicuņa

 

 

One day as I was hiking I saw a lovely sight

Manuel was approaching with his herd of goats

 

 

 

They crested the ridge where I was standing...

 

 

 

...then descended the other side, heading home

 

 

 

They're almost there

Their home is at the base of the hill, just up from Vicuņa  

 

 

 

And this is Manuel

 

Weathered face, tranquil demeanor

 

 

 

Back up in the hills, here's the route that Manuel brought his sheep before I met him

This was my favorite hike

A side trip to see more of this trail

 

 

 

 

Here's a sampling of the vegetation 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all my hill hiking here, I encountered few trees
 

 

 

But cactus, that's another matter.

Here's a shot of the Gilchrist National Forest

(Although as of this writing, the Chilean parliament has taken no action to make it official)

A side trip to see more of the flora

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