Photo courtesy of Felix Von Nida.
The impossibly delicate waif-like bodies of the Vicuna are a stark contrast to the harsh barren lands of their home, the Andean steppes that stretch from northwest Argentina to Colombia. At first sight, you can confuse their delicate shapes drifting across the landscape with the heat shimmering off the hot ground.
It is easy see why these fairylike animals are entwined into the mythology of the Andes.
Less fairylike are the prices of Vicuna wool. Lora Piana, the luxury Italian fashion label, buys up a large chunk of the world’s supply – a simple scarf of theirs goes for U$D 4,000+.
Where and how to see Vicuna in Argentina
The photos of Vicuna on this post were taken during road trips we organised in Salta and the northwest of Argentina. This is the best way to see the Vicuna in Argentina.
Note: the Vicuna live over 3,000 meters above sea level so chasing them, as you can see me doing in the below photo, is a spectacularly bad idea – afterwards it feels like your heart is going to beat out of your chest!
Photo courtesy of Jamie Excell.
Author: Hugh MacDermott
