Flowers to be seen when horseback riding in the Chilean Andes out from Bano Morales, near Santiago

Home for Riding

Flowers in the Chilean Andes are an unexpected phenomenon. In December, January and early February the mountains are alive with an exotic richness of flora which is both unimaginable and indescribable. Setting off on our ride in the morning the ground seems parched and dry with few plants. By lunchtime the it has taken on a special hue, perhaps pink where the calandrinias flower, or yellow where the adesmia predominates, or white, or purple or whatever the predominating flower. Sometimes there is an ebullient mixture, but often one valley will have predominantly blue and purple flowers, while another is yellow or pink.

The flowers are all exotic, and of all sizes, from the large alstromerias and tropolaeums to the smaller calandrias and the calceolarias and chacacomas. It is difficult to photograph the abundance, but below we give some individual pictures of the most often seen flowers. It is a paradise for anyone, but especially for botanists.

A selection of some of the most often found of the flora of the cordillera near Santiago

ananuca

chacacoma

sysirinchium

calandriania

cauliflower of the cordillera

alstromeria