Without a doubt the most spectacular ranges in Bolivia. It runs from north of Lake Titicaca, between the two branches of the Andes, heads south and into northern Argentina and Chile. It is generally cold and windy and mostly treeless. The vegetation is sparse and mostly made of tough clumps of grass called 'ichu', short and tough Thola bushes and ocassional stands of native trees called Quenua. Many volcanoes lie scattered among the plains and mesas and their volcanic flows have been shaped into a maze of canyonlands by the erosive powers of rain, wind, snow and hail over eons.
Roads are few and rugged and no reliable gas or services are readily available.
This landscape is quite rugged, has limited but interesting flora and fauna and beautiful as well. They are rugged and largely undeveloped due to their geographic and geologic characteristics. The upper reaches are made of cloud forests and the rivers that cascade of the high glaciated summits cut their way through this region and empty into the upper Amazon Basin. They are rich in flora and fauna and some of Bolivia's most spectacular parks are located here. They are criss-crossed with Inca trails and were the only access into the lowlands for thousands of years.