Laguna de los Pozuelos

Laguna de los Pozuelos lies at around 3,600 metres on the northern Jujuy puna, a broad, shallow lake in a closed basin ringed by nothing but pale grassland and distant hills. It is protected as a natural monument and recognised internationally as a wetland of importance, because in good years it hosts one of the great flamingo gatherings of South America, with three species present, the Andean, Chilean and James's flamingo, in flocks that can run into tens of thousands. Around them are Andean geese, coots, gulls and shorebirds that migrate from the far north. The lake is fickle: it depends entirely on summer rain, and in dry years it shrinks to salt-crusted mud with far fewer birds. Watching is from the shore and the ranger station, in wind and enormous silence.

What you actually see

• The flamingo flocks - three species massing in the shallows in good years.
• The open basin - a huge shallow lake with no trees and a horizon of pale hills.
• The other waterbirds - Andean geese, coots, gulls and migrant shorebirds.
• The ranger station - the small reserve base with information on conditions.

When to go

December to April, after summer rain has filled the basin, is when water and birds are most reliable; in a dry year the lake can be nearly empty even then. Mornings are calmer, as the wind builds through the day. Nights fall well below freezing year-round.

Honest expectations

This is a genuinely remote reserve on rough unpaved roads, with no facilities, food or shelter, and it rewards patience rather than a quick look. Bird numbers vary hugely by year and season, and disappointment is a real possibility. Binoculars or a scope are essential; the birds stay far out.

Nearby

Abra Pampa is the nearest town; Casabindo lies south across the puna.