Apolobamba Jungle

Apolobamba is an Andean mountain range along the eastern borderland of Peru and Bolivia. On the Bolivian side it lies in La Paz Department; on the Peruvian side it reaches into Puno Region. The range spans about fifty kilometres from east to west and thirty kilometres from north to south. Its eastern flanks descend toward the humid Yunga country, where forest and steep valleys contrast with the high, cold plateaus and snow-covered summits above.

The relief is dramatic. Chaupi Orco, also called Wisk'achani, rises to 6,044 metres and is the highest point in the range. Other peaks such as Canisaya, Palomani and Katantika exceed 5,600 metres, while numerous passes and valleys create routes between highland communities and lower forested slopes. Water from rain, snow and glacial melt feeds streams descending from the cordillera.

The Kallawaya people are closely associated with this landscape. Curva, their main locality, stands at 3,800 metres above sea level. The lower jungle margin and upper mountain pastures belong to a single system of seasonal movement, plant knowledge and local exchange. Apolobamba Jungle therefore describes the forested approaches to a compact but exceptionally high Andean range, where elevation changes rapidly and communities use foods from several ecological zones.