High Andean peaks, wind-sculpted red-walled canyons, rushing rivers and fertile green valleys. The landscape is vast. The three main ecological and geological regions are:
First, the quebradas, the high arid foothills with eye-popping painted desert hillsides, deep red rock canyons, desert swatches of cactus and sage, and green irrigated valleys that are among the most fertile in South America.
Second, the yungas, in contrast, are subtropical mountainous jungles with thick vegetation and mist-shrouded hills. This tropical andean region is the richest and most diverse region on earth, with a sixth of all plant life in existence in less than one percent of the world's land area.
Third, the puna, the cold barren high altitude plateaus near the borders of bolivia and chile.
