Sierra de Famatina to Ojos del Salado Wildland and Biodiversity Expedition

Feb 17-28, 2012

Area Silvestre Sierra de Famatina to Ojos del Salado is an enormous roadless area that extends from the southern end of the Sierra de Famatina in Argentina northwest into the Central Chilean Andes and beyond.

Sierra de Famatina

This Area Silvestre is nearly 2.7 million hectares in size, without roads and developments. It begins at the edge of Chilecito in central, western Argentina and extends northwest to the edge of the Salar de Marichunga in Chile, west of Cerro Tres Cruces and Ojos del Salado on the Argentine/Chilean border. The area includes the second, third and fourth highest peaks in the western hemisphere, Nevado Ojos del Salado “snow-white eyes of the salt plains”, the highest volcano in the world (6893-m), Monte Pissis (6795-m) and Nevado Tres Cruces (6749-m). There are 15 other summits throughout the area over 6000-m elevation. While much of the area is high, the wildland boundary extends down to about 1000-m near Chilecito. Here, the Chaco forests find one of their southern-most expressions. The mountains have snow year-round and provide water to the lush desert valleys at their base. Diverse human communities, sustained by centuries-old agricultural traditions, flourish in these valleys. Although this is generally an arid area, there is great ecological diversity in this area. The conservation value of this area is tremendous,however only small parts of the area are officially protected. The conservation value of the area is greatly enhanced by the fact that this area immediately adjacent to one other immense roadless areas; separated from it by a narrow dirt road that is impassable much of the year.

Expedition Plan

We will begin our expedition in Chilecito, in the Province of La Rioja, at the base of the Sierra de Famatina. We will spend the night in Chilecito and have an expedition orientation. The next day, we hope to visit with professors and students at the Universidad Nacional de Chilecito about the ecology of the area. We will work on developing a connection with these scientists and students that will lead to future collaboration.

We will visit the Famatina Valley, north of Chilecito and explore as best we can the east side of the Sierra de Famatina. We will meet with people living in the valley and learn more about their interests and knowledge about the wildlands that surround them. We will also learn more about their opposition to the proposed gold mine that would destroy the upper parts of the Sierra de Famatina and potentially pollute their water.

The high summits of the Sierra de Famatina are over 6000-meters and usually covered with snow. We will attempt to explore some of the alpine country, below the snow line. There are various options that we will explore for getting to near the top of the mountain range.

Later in the expedition, we will shift our focus to the valley to the west of this mountain range. This is a valley similar to the Valle de Famatina, but wider and broader. Several small towns (Villa Union, Villa Castilli, etc.) and extensive vineyards, orchards and pastures fill the irrigated parts of the valley. We will meet with people living here and find out more about how they relate to the wildlands surrounding them. We will also hike into and along the western side of the Sierra de Famatina.

Then we will attempt to travel to Laguna Brava and may attempt to hike and climb to Crater Corona del Inca, a very high lake in an old volcano and explore the area surround this area. We may also explore the area around Salinas de Laguna Verde and the lush headwaters on the south side of Monte Pissis.

An alternative will be to this will be to approach Monte Pissis and it surrounding lakes and wetlands from the north. To do this, we will drive around the east and north side of the Sierra de Famatina, going through the towns of Tinogasta and Fiambala. If we go to Fiambala, we will be drawn to visit the Termas de Fiambala, a very beautiful hot spring spa tucked into the mountain slopes of the largest Area Silvestre in northern Argentina.

At the end of our trip, we will return to Chilecito, La Rioja and then Tucuman to start our next expedition in early March.

Most nights, we will camp next to our vehicles at unestablished campsites. Car camping in the back country is a common, accepted practice in most of Argentina. We may have the opportunity for a couple of short backpacks deeper into the wildlands. We will also stay in a hosteria, hostal or hotel in one of the nearby towns for 1 or 2 nights during the trip. We may also visit the Termas de Fiambala. Read this for a more detailed description of this Area Silvestre.