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 east 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.

Background

Lake Parinacochas is a lake in Peru's Ayacucho Region, lying west of the Sara Sara volcano at 3,272 metres above sea level. Its name may come from the Aymara parina, flamingo, and the Quechua qucha, lake or lagoon, giving flamingo lake. The lake measures 12 km in length and 9 km in width, and its catchment covers 606.5 square kilometres. It is shallow and brackish, and when the water is low, areas of salt pan appear. On its north-western shore lie the ruins of Inkawasi, a village of Inca origin.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lake Parinacochas"

What's there

• 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 east 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.

Practical notes

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 east.

Key facts