On previous mountain wanderings the flora have never really made a lasting impression. This is probably because we’ve trekked little in the Himalayan monsoon, and even less in the Andean rainy season.
May and June in the Cordillera Blanca therefore came as a wonderful surprise. Clouds often covered the peaks, but down below, close to the trail, some equally spectacular natural wonders were making themselves known. It was hard to miss them: wild flowers in radiant purples, reds, yellows and blues, shouting out, and smacking us in the face. A riotous extravaganza of colour! LOOK AT US!
Here’s a taster of some of the species on show:
Some delicate gentians (I think).
Some gorgeous gentians.
A flower from the potato/nightshade family.
Not sure what these are – gentians?
Flower from the potato/nightshade family. It has wonderful soft leaves and buds like shiny green marbles.
Purple lupins. These bushes cover the slopes of the Blanca in May and June.
Some more lovely lupins.
Some snapdragons – or ‘Zapatito de Diablo’ – Devil’s Slippers.
A yellow aster.
A yellow gentian – love the shape of these things!
Some sweet peas.
More yellow asters.
We’ve only ever seen one of these, and don’t know what it is, but we liked it all the same.
A red gentian.
Red and yellow lilies.
The incredible passionflower!
Not sure what this is…
Some purple asters.
Guinea pig penises, as the locals call them. We thought they looked more like red-hot pokers, but there you go.
A snapdragon.
Some more asters.
To see even more of the Blanca’s wildflowers, see our full Flickr photoset.
Lovely. Really nice shots! Thanks for rubbing it in…I mean sharing!
Ha! You and your science nerd amigos would love all the flora and small birds on show out here! I don’t think you can delay a visit much longer…