Apartaderos

Apartaderos stands where the Trans-Andean road meets the turning for the Sierra Nevada, at around thirty-five hundred metres in páramo country: cold, treeless high moorland with frailejones, the tall woolly-leaved plants that only grow in the northern Andes. Terraced fields of potato, carrot and garlic climb the slopes around it. The Llano del Hato observatory, one of the highest in South America at over three thousand six hundred metres, is a short distance away.

Background

At 3,505 metres, Apartaderos is the highest town in Venezuela. Three river valleys meet here. The Chama descends toward Mérida, the Santo Domingo heads for Los Llanos of Barinas, and the Motatán flows toward Valera. The Transandean Highway links the town with Mérida and Valera and tops out at 4,000 metres at El Collado del Cóndor, which locals call Pico El Águila, a couple of minutes away. The climate is alpine tundra (Köppen ET), averaging 6.9 °C over the year, from 2.5 °C in January to 11 °C in June. Besides tourism, people live from farming, flower growing and crafts, and the scenery has inspired native American myth and poetry.

Source: Wikipedia, "Apartaderos"

The landscape

• The frailejones - woolly-leaved paramo plants covering the high moorland.
• The Llano del Hato observatory - an astronomical station at over 3600 metres.
• The terraced fields - potato, carrot and garlic grown at extreme altitude.
• The paramo - treeless high moorland unique to the northern Andes.

When to go

December to April is driest and clearest, and the best for the observatory. Nights fall below freezing year round. Cloud closes the views most afternoons.

What to expect

The altitude affects people arriving quickly from the coast and headaches are common. It is cold and windy and there is little shelter. Observatory opening is limited and should be checked.

Nearby

Laguna de Mucubaji is northeast, and Mucuchies is southwest.

Key facts