Laguna Parinacochas

Parinacochas covers around seventy square kilometres of shallow water at 3,270 metres in the far south of Ayacucho, and the Quechua name says what it is for: parina, flamingo, cocha, lake. Chilean, Andean and James's flamingos all use it, feeding on the brine invertebrates in the shallows, and in the right conditions there are thousands of them tinting the margins pink, with Andean geese, ducks and shorebirds alongside. The Sara Sara volcano, a snow-capped cone of 5,505 metres, stands to the south and reflects in the water. It is a remote corner of the country, reached from Coracora on roads that take hours from anywhere, and there is very little infrastructure - which is also why the lake is undisturbed. Numbers of birds fluctuate with water level, and the lake has shrunk in dry years.

What you actually see

• The flamingos - three species using the shallows, in thousands when conditions suit.
• The lake - about seventy square kilometres of shallow water at 3,270 metres.
• Sara Sara - the 5,505-metre snow cone standing south of the water.
• The name - Quechua for flamingo lake, and accurate.

When to go

May to September for road access. Flamingo numbers depend on water levels and vary a great deal. Half a day at the lake; getting there takes much longer.

Honest expectations

Remote - many hours of rough road from Nazca, Puquio or Arequipa, with minimal facilities at Coracora. Birds are distant and binoculars are essential. Cold, windy and exposed. In dry years the lake shrinks and the flamingos go elsewhere.

Nearby

Coracora is the provincial town; the Sara Sara volcano is south.