Background Information
The Cordillera de los Andes, to the north of Lake Titicaca branches into two large mountain chains which form the backbone of the Bolivian Andes. To the east at 14°30' longitude, the Cordillera Oriental runs from northwest to southeast. The first section of this range is known as Apolobamba. Running in the same direction is the Cordillera Real which follows the eastern shore of Lake Titicaca and ends at Illimani. This section has the largest number of 6000m peaks. To the south of Illimani, the cordilera takes the name Tres Cruces. One chain of Tres Cruces runs to the east and is called Cordillera de Cochabamba. Another chain branching off Cochbamba turns south and is divided into three sections: Azanaques, los Frailes and Chichas.
To the west and running along the Bolivia and Chilean border is the second main branch of the Cordillera de los Andes. The cordillera Occidental is largly volcanic in origin.
Lying between these two magnificent ranges is the Altiplano with Lake Titicaca in the north and the white salt flats of Coipasa and Uyuni in the center. (adapted from Willy Kennings book 6000+). We climbed Huayna Potosi on July 24 and 25, 2009. You can see maps of some of these peaks by going to
my topographic page.
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