(♪♪♪)
THE ANDEAN ALTIPLANO.
A RUGGED SKY-HIGH PLAIN IN THE REMOTE HEART OF BOLIVIA.
FROM TOWERING VOLCANIC PEAKS...
...TO GLOWING, MULTICOLORED LAKES.
IT IS ONE OF SOUTH AMERICA'S LAST GREAT WILDLANDS.
HOME TO A VAST SALT DESERT,
SO OUTER-WORLDLY, IT HAS BEEN DUBBED "HEAVEN ON EARTH".
A HOTBED OF VOLCANIC ENERGY
HARKING BACK TO A PREHISTORIC AGE.
A HAVEN FOR RARE ANDEAN WILDLIFE.
AND A NEVER-BEFORE SEEN VIEW OF ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST-PRISTINE
WILDERNESS FRONTIERS.
(♪♪♪)
THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO.
A DESOLATE, HIGHLAND PLATEAU,
STRETCHING 500 MILES
BETWEEN THE EASTERN AND WESTERN CHAINS OF THE ANDES.
(♪♪♪)
ALTIPLANO MEANS "HIGH PLAIN".
THE AVERAGE ALTITUDE OF THIS BARREN, WINDSWEPT EXPANSE
IS A SKY-SCRAPING 12,300 FEET.
HIGHER THAN MANY PEAKS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
(♪♪♪)
THE LARGEST MOUNTAIN PLATEAU OUTSIDE TIBET.
THE ALTIPLANO WAS FORMED BY AN EARTH-SHATTERING COLLISION
BETWEEN THE PACIFIC OCEAN FLOOR AND THE SOUTH AMERICAN MAINLAND
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.
TWO MOUNTAIN CHAINS, ONCE PART OF THE OCEAN FLOOR,
WERE DRIVEN UPWARDS FROM THE DEPTHS
FLANKING A HIGH AND LEVEL PLATEAU.
IN THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE ALTIPLANO
NEAR THE CREST OF THE ANDES LIES A SNOWY-WHITE PLAIN,
SO VAST, SO PERFECTLY LEVEL THAT IT DEFIES BELIEF.
THE UYUNI SALT FLAT.
&gt;&gt; THE UYUNI SALT FLAT IS MAGIC.
IT'S AMAZING.
SO IT'S A THOUSAND OF KILOMETERS SQUARED OF SALT.
IT'S VOLCANO-SURROUNDED, SO IT'S AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL.
(♪♪♪)
IT IS JANUARY.
THE RAINY SEASON IN UYUNI.
AND A THIN FILM OF RAIN WATER POOLS ON PARTS OF THE SALT FLAT.
(♪♪♪)
AT MORE THAN 4,000 SQUARE MILES
THIS IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST SALT FLAT.
LOCKED INSIDE THE THICK, HARD CRUST UNDER THE RAIN WATER
ARE 10 BILLION TONS OF SALT.
(♪♪♪)
THE SALAR, AS IT'S KNOWN IN SPANISH
IS SO FAR-REACHING, SO BLINDINGLY WHITE,
THAT IT CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.
(♪♪♪)
IT WOULD TAKE A BACKHOE DIGGING 24 HOURS A DAY,
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK,
40,000 YEARS TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE SALT FLAT.
A HARD AND SPIKY LAYER OF SALT, EIGHT INCHES THICK,
SHINES WHITE UNDER A BURNING BOLIVIAN SUN.
(♪♪♪)
BENEATH THIS CRUST,
THE SALT IS SOAKED IN BRINY WATER,
AND REACHES DEPTHS OF 400 FEET.
BUT THE HARD AND DRY SURFACE CONTRACTS IN THE BLISTERING SUN.
FORMING CRACKS
AND A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS PATTERN OF HEXAGONAL PLATES
SHAPED BY ELEVATED SALT.
(♪♪♪)
FEW PLACES ON EARTH ARE AS FLAT AS UYUNI.
OVER AN AREA OF MORE THAN 4,000 SQUARE MILES,
ITS ELEVATION VARIES JUST THREE FEET.
(♪♪♪)
WHEN SKIES ARE CLEAR,
NASA BOUNCES SIGNALS OFF THE SALAR'S FLAT SURFACE
TO CALIBRATE ITS SATELLITES IN SPACE.
(♪♪♪)
MORE THAN 30,000 YEARS AGO,
THIS WAS THE BOTTOM OF A DEEP INLAND SEA
THAT FLOODED THE SOUTHERN ALTIPLANO.
DRIED BY THE ARID CLIMATE, THE SEA EVAPORATED,
LEAVING BEHIND IMMENSE STORES OF SALT,
DEPOSITED FROM THE ANDES OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.
OF UYUNI'S 10 BILLION TONS OF SALT
JUST 25,000 ARE EXTRACTED ANNUALLY.
LOCAL PEOPLE CREATE PILES TO DRY THE SALT
FOR TRANSPORT TO NEARBY COLCHANI,
WHERE IT IS MILLED WITH IODINE AND SOLD AS TABLE SALT.
HARVESTING SALT IS ARDUOUS,
AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET,
THE OXYGEN LEVEL IN UYUNI IS LOW.
THE THIN MOUNTAIN AIR IS HEATED QUICKLY
BY AN UNFORGIVING SUN.
MAKING UV RADIATION MORE THAN 30% STRONGER THAN AT SEA LEVEL.
THE PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO
HAVE ADAPTED TO THESE EXTREME CONDITIONS
WITH LARGE LUNG VOLUME,
AND HIGH LEVELS OF RED BLOOD CELLS IN THEIR SYSTEM.
&gt;&gt; THE PEOPLE ARE STRONG HERE
BECAUSE WE ARE DESCENDANTS OF DIFFERENT CULTURES -
QUECHUAS, AYMARAS, (UNCLEAR).
THEY FEEL HAPPY IN THE HIGHEST PLACES,
NEXT TO THE MOUNTAINS,
NEXT TO THE VOLCANOES,
WHERE THE SKY IS BLUE, WHERE THE STARS ARE SO CLEAR,
WHEN THE WINDS WHISTLE HERE IN THE EVENING.
THE LIFE HERE IS REALLY, REALLY HARD,
THE SUN, THE WIND,
WE ARE THE SPECIAL PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO.
&gt;&gt; BATTERED BY WIND, AND PARCHED BY SUN
THE SALAR IS DEVOID OF VISIBLE SIGNS OF LIFE.
COAXING CROPS FROM THIS HARSH LANDSCAPE IS NOT POSSIBLE,
AND THE SALT HARVEST HAS BECOME KEY TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
BUT FAR GREATER RICHES LIE IN THE BRINY WATER
BENEATH THESE SALT FLATS.
LITHIUM.
THE SOFT METAL USED IN BATTERIES FOR COMPUTERS,
MOBILE PHONES, AND ELECTRIC CARS.
UYUNI IS HOME TO MORE THAN HALF THE WORLD'S KNOWN
LITHIUM RESERVES.
A NATURAL RESOURCE
THAT COULD BE WORTH MORE THAN A TRILLION DOLLARS
TO THE BOLIVIAN ECONOMY.
THE GOVERNMENT OF BOLIVIA IS INTENT ON DEVELOPING
THE LITHIUM INDUSTRY.
IN 2013,
BOLIVIA OPENED A LITHIUM PRODUCTION PLANT
NEAR THE SALT FLAT.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS DESOLATE PLAIN,
A JAGGED OUTCROP OF LAND
RISES ABRUPTLY ON THE BLEACHED HORIZON.
ISLA INCAHUASI, INCA HOUSE ISLAND.
THIS IS THE PEAK OF AN ANCIENT UNDERWATER VOLCANO.
DATING BACK SOME 40,000 YEARS,
WHEN UYUNI WAS A GIANT PREHISTORIC LAKE.
(♪♪♪)
SOARING CACTI STAND LIKE STONEHENGE MONUMENTS.
AMID CORAL STRUCTURES AND VOLCANIC ROCK,
ALONE, IN A SEA OF SALT.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; IT'S PRETTY AMAZING TO SEE VOLCANIC ROCKS IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE SALT FLAT WITH CACTUS. IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL.
&gt;&gt; AS THE LIGHT DIES ON A WINTER'S NIGHT IN UYUNI,
RAIN WATER ON THE SALT FLAT CREATES A DREAMLIKE LANDSCAPE,
THE WORLD'S LARGEST NATURAL MIRROR.
(♪♪♪)
THE LOCAL QUECHUA PEOPLE SAY THAT ON THE SALT FLAT
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL
WHERE THE EARTH ENDS AND HEAVEN BEGINS.
(♪♪♪)
ABOUT 150 MILES SOUTH OF THE UYUNI SALT FLAT,
AN ANCIENT SALT LAKE RINGED BY VOLCANOES
BLUSHES UNDER THE ALTIPLANO SKY,
LAGUNA COLORADA, RED LAGOON.
(♪♪♪)
AT 14,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL,
IT IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST LAKES
AND ALSO ONE OF ITS MOST UNUSUAL.
THE STRIKING COLOR IS CAUSED BY RED SEDIMENT
AND THE PIGMENTATION OF ALGAE
STIRRED UP BY THE ALTIPLANO WIND.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; I'M FEELING LIKE I'M IN ANOTHER WORLD,
THIS UNIQUE PLACE IS-- THE VISION AROUND HERE--
FEELING LIKE YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THE SKY
BECAUSE WE ARE IN A HIGH PLACE, WE--
WE FEEL IN THE-- THE CLOUDS IS LOWER,
IT'S-- IT'S AMAZING,
I DON'T HAVE WORDS FOR EXPRESS WHEN I COME TO HERE.
ISLANDS OF BORAX,
THE MINERAL USED IN HOUSEHOLD DETERGENT,
DOT THE COLD, RED LAKE,
WHICH STRETCHES 23 SQUARE MILES
ACROSS THE DESERT.
(♪♪♪)
LAGUNA COLORADA IS ONE OF THE LARGEST
OF THE ALTIPLANO'S MANY LAGOONS.
FORMED WHEN THE WATER FROM MELTING GLACIERS
FLOODED ITS BASIN.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; IT'S MAGIC WHEN YOU ARRIVE THERE IT'S A PEACEFUL PLACE,
YOU CAN SEE THE COLOR RED ON THE LAKE,
AT THE SAME TIME THE COLOR WHITE ON THE BORAX,
AND THE MOUNTAINS THAT ARE-- TAKE CARE OF THIS PLACE.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE FLAMINGOS LIVING THERE,
IN A PEACEFUL PLACE.
(♪♪♪)
ON THE SOUTHERNMOST BORDER WITH CHILE,
AT THE FOOT OF A MAGNIFICENT VOLCANO,
THE BARREN ALTIPLANO GIVES WAY
TO A SHIMMERING EMERALD SALT LAKE.
LAGUNA VERDE, GREEN LAGOON.
A DENSE BREW OF ARSENIC AND MAGNESIUM
RENDER THE LAKE A VIBRANT TURQUOISE.
BITTER WINDS WHIP ACROSS THIS REGION OF THE ALTIPLANO,
TEMPERATURES CAN REACH A BONE-CHILLING -25°F.
ONLY LAGUNA VERDE'S UNIQUE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
KEEPS IT FROM FREEZING IN THE BITING COLD.
(♪♪♪)
SULFURIC SUDS WHIPPED UP BY WIND
GATHER ON THE CRUSTED SHORE.
(♪♪♪)
DOMINATING THE LANDSCAPE,
A GIANT RISES LIKE AN ANCIENT PYRAMID
AMONG THE CLOUDS.
LICANCABUR VOLCANO.
LICANCABUR MEANS "MOUNTAIN OF THE PEOPLE"
IN THE LOCAL ATACAMEñO LANGUAGE.
AT 19,000 FEET,
IT IS ONE OF THE TALLEST VOLCANOES IN THE ANDES.
HIDDEN INSIDE ITS 1,300-FOOT-WIDE CRATER
IS THE WORLD'S HIGHEST VOLCANIC LAGOON,
LICANCABUR LAKE.
LICANCABUR MAY LOOK LIKE A REMNANT
FROM A FORGOTTEN PREHISTORIC WORLD
BUT IT IS FAR FROM EXTINCT.
DORMANT FOR AT LEAST 500 YEARS, IT COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME.
A FRIGHTENING COMBINATION OF BEAUTY AND TERRIBLE POWER.
(♪♪♪)
IT IS A FIVE-HOUR CLIMB OVER STEEP AND ROCKY SLOPES
TO REACH THE SUMMIT.
HIKERS WHO DO SO MUST FACE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OF THIN MOUNTAIN AIR: SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND FATIGUE,
AND THE BATTERING WIND THAT WHIPS ACROSS THE ALTIPLANO.
CONNECTED TO LAGUNA VERDE BY A SMALL STRAIT
ARE THE CHALKY WATERS OF LAGUNA BLANCA, WHITE LAGOON.
(♪♪♪)
ON THE SHORES OF THE LAGOON,
LIE SCATTERINGS OF BLACK VOLCANIC ROCK,
A REMINDER OF THE VIOLENT GEOLOGICAL TURMOIL
THAT SHAPED THESE FOOTHILLS.
SOFT, POWDERY BORAX
CREATED BY THE REPEATED EVAPORATION OF THE LAKE
IS SUSPENDED IN THE WATER
CREATING A GHOSTLY WHITE HUE
THAT REFLECTS THE LOOMING VOLCANOES.
(♪♪♪)
THESE LAGOONS ARE RICH WITH LIFE:
COLORFUL PLANKTON AND ALGAE
PROVIDE AN IDEAL FEEDING GROUND FOR THE FLAMINGO
MAKING THE ALTIPLANO THE NEST OF THE ANDES.
(♪♪♪)
BY THE END OF EACH BREEDING SEASON
THERE ARE ABOUT 100,000 COLD-WEATHER FLAMINGOS
ON THESE LAGOONS.
THREE OF THE WORLD'S SIX SPECIES FLOCK HERE:
JAMES'S, ANDEAN, AND CHILEAN FLAMINGOS.
(♪♪♪)
HIDDEN BETWEEN MOUNTAIN PASSES, 16,000 FEET HIGH,
THESE RUGGED HABITATS OFFER FLAMINGOS PROTECTION
FROM PREDATORS.
FEW CREATURES CAN SURVIVE
THE UNFORGIVING EXTREMES OF THE ALTIPLANO.
THOSE THAT DO, SUCH AS FOXES AND MOUNTAIN LIONS
ARE PREVENTED FROM FEEDING ON THE BIRDS' EGGS
BY THE QUAGGY MUD PITS THAT SURROUND THESE LAGOONS.
DESPITE THE INHOSPITABLE CONDITIONS
FLAMINGOS THRIVE ON THESE CAUSTIC LAKES,
SIFTING SHRIMP AND ALGAE FROM THE SALT WATER
THROUGH HIGHLY ADAPTED BILLS.
TONGUES PUMP UP AND DOWN SIX TIMES PER SECOND
PUSHING WATER THROUGH THEIR BEAKS
ALLOWING THEM TO FILTER THEIR FOOD.
(♪♪♪)
A CHILEAN FLAMINGO STAMPS ITS WEBBED-FEET IN THE MUD
STIRRING UP ALGAE AND PLANKTON FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAGOON.
EACH SPECIES OF FLAMINGO FORAGES FROM DIFFERENT DEPTHS
TO AVOID COMPETITION.
ONLY IN THE ALTIPLANO
WILL ALL THREE SPECIES OF FLAMINGO FEED SIDE BY SIDE.
20 MILES FROM THE TINTED WATERS OF THE GREEN LAGOON
THE ALTIPLANO LAYS CLAIM
TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL WONDERS,
A PLACE WHERE DESOLATION AND STRANGE BEAUTY COLLIDE.
THE DALI DESERT.
SO NAMED FOR ITS RESEMBLANCE TO THE PAINTINGS
OF THE SURREALIST MASTER SALVADOR DALí.
&gt;&gt; YOU CAN SEE THE SAND AND VOLCANIC ROCKS,
AND IT'S A PAINTING FROM SALVADOR DALí.
AND THAT PAINTING, WITH THIS LANDSCAPE, IS EXACTLY,
THAT IS THE REASON THAT WE CAN CALL IT
A SURREALIST LANDSCAPE THERE, BECAUSE IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL.
&gt;&gt; VOLCANIC ROCK FORMATIONS,
SAND-BLASTED OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS BY SUB-ZERO WINDS,
POKE OUT OF A PARCHED AND ASHEN WASTELAND
THAT STRETCHES MORE THAN 40 SQUARE MILES.
THESE SCULPTURES,
GOUGED AND SHAPED BY THE RAVAGES OF TIME
HAUNT THE SURREAL LANDSCAPE.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; THE WEATHER IN THE ALTIPLANO,
IN HIGHEST PLACES, IT'S UNPREDICTABLE.
IT COULD BE RAIN, SNOW, WINDY, CLOUDY.
&gt;&gt; THE ONLY APPARENT LIFE FORMS ON THIS ROCKY, MARTIAN TERRAIN
ARE SMALL TUFTS OF PAJA BRAVA,
THE TOUGH, PORCUPINE-LIKE GRASS CLUMPS
THAT CLING TO LIFE ON THE ALTIPLANO.
EVEN MORE ARID THAN THE DALI DESERT
ARE THE STARK, HIGH-ALTITUDE BADLANDS OF SILOLI
(♪♪♪)
THIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S DRIEST REGIONS,
PART OF THE ATACAMA DESERT IN NEIGHBORING CHILE.
THE ATACAMA IS ONE OF THE DRIEST PLACES ON EARTH.
IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF ATACAMA,
WHERE RAINFALL IS MEASURED,
THE DESERT RECEIVES AVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION
OF FEWER THAN FOUR-HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH,
LESS THAN THE THICKNESS OF A SINGLE DIME.
THE ANDES ACT LIKE A MASSIVE RAIN WALL,
MORE THAN 13,000 FEET HIGH,
BLOCKING MOIST EASTERLY WINDS FROM WINDING DOWN TO THE DESERT.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS HAUNTED, FORSAKEN LAND.
A STARTLING ROCK FIGURE, TWENTY FEET TALL,
BRACES ITSELF AGAINST THE WIND.
STONE TREE.
NAMED FOR ITS RESEMBLANCE TO THE QUEñUA,
THE STUNTED TREE THAT GROWS IN THE ANDEAN HIGHLANDS.
(♪♪♪)
WINDS THAT REACH SPEEDS OF 40 MILES AN HOUR
CARRY COARSE BITS OF SAND AND ROCK
THAT HAVE ERODED THE STONE OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
(♪♪♪)
FARTHER ALONG THE DESERT,
THE PRIMITIVE BEAUTY OF THE ALTIPLANO IS BROUGHT TO BEAR
AT A FAVORITE DESTINATION FOR DARING ROCK CLIMBERS.
THE CRAGGY HILLS AND BOULDERS OF ROCK VALLEY.
(♪♪♪)
JAGGED ROCK SCULPTURES, SOME AS HIGH AS 150 FEET,
JUT RAGGEDLY FROM THE MASSIVE DESERT PLAIN.
(♪♪♪)
CARVED AND CRACKED BY CENTURIES OF WIND
SOME HAVE TAKEN THE SHAPE OF FACES.
(♪♪♪)
OTHERS ARE POISED LIKE DINOSAURS ON A PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE.
(♪♪♪)
LAYERS OF IGNIMBRITE,
THE VOLCANIC ROCK SPREAD BY ERUPTIONS MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO
STRETCH FOR DOZENS OF MILES INTO THE DISTANCE.
THIS IS THE VALLEY OF CATAL.
(♪♪♪)
A PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE, STREWN WITH VOLCANIC ROCK,
REVEALS THE GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL
THAT SHAPED THESE BATTERED PLAINS.
(♪♪♪)
HIDDEN WITHIN THE SCORCHED AND BROKEN HILLS
IS A COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED FIND.
AN OASIS, AS VERDANT AND LUSH AS AN ENGLISH LAWN
OFFERS GRAZING GROUND FOR A HERD OF LLAMAS,
ONE OF THE OLDEST DOMESTICATED ANIMALS IN THE AMERICAS.
(♪♪♪)
WETLANDS LIKE THESE ARE NATIVE TO THE ANDES
AND CAN ONLY BE FOUND ABOVE 12,000 FEET.
WATER FROM RAIN AND MELTING GLACIERS
FEEDS THE LOW, SPONGY GRASSES, WHICH FEED THE LLAMAS
AND PROVIDE A VIVID TOUCH OF COLOR
TO THE BARREN STEPPE LAND.
MORE THAN 70% OF THE WORLD'S LLAMAS ARE IN BOLIVIA.
RELATIVES OF THE CAMEL,
THEY HAVE EVOLVED PERFECTLY FOR THE HIGH-ALTITUDE EXTREMES
OF THE ALTIPLANO.
HIGH AMOUNTS OF RED-BLOOD CELLS COLLECT OXYGEN FROM THEIR LUNGS
AND CARRY IT THROUGHOUT THE BODY.
ALLOWING THEM TO THRIVE IN OXYGEN-DEPLETED AIR.
(♪♪♪)
IN HOSTILE, ARID STRETCHES OF DESERT
THEY ARE ABLE TO GO DAYS WITHOUT WATER
MAKING THEM AN IDEAL PACK ANIMAL
FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO.
FOR CENTURIES,
THESE INTELLIGENT HERD ANIMALS WERE KNOWN AS
"THE CARGO SHIPS OF THE ANDES."
(♪♪♪)
COLORFUL RIBBONS ATTACHED TO THEIR EARS
DISTINGUISH ONE DOMESTIC HERD FROM ANOTHER.
(♪♪♪)
TEETH AND GUMS ARE FINELY DEVELOPED
FOR THE TOUGH ANDEAN VEGETATION.
(♪♪♪)
SHARP LOWER INCISORS AND HARD UPPER GUMS,
CUT THE PLANTS
WHICH THEN PASS THROUGH THE LLAMA'S THREE STOMACHS
TO AID DIGESTION.
(♪♪♪)
THE LLAMA IS COVERED IN A DOUBLE COAT.
AN OUTER COAT OF ROUGH HAIR PROTECTS IT
FROM HARSH WEATHER.
AN INNER COAT OF FINE HAIR HELPS REGULATE HEAT
FROM THE BLAZING MIDDAY SUN.
LLAMAS REMAIN ALERT AT ALL TIMES.
MOUNTAIN LIONS PROWL THESE PEAKS
AND PREY ON YOUNG MEMBERS OF THE HERD.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE GRASSLANDS THAT RING THE VALLEY OF CATAL
ANOTHER FAVORITE PREY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION
TREADS CAREFULLY ACROSS THE TERRAIN.
THE RHEA.
(♪♪♪)
A RELATIVE OF THE OSTRICH AND EMU,
THE RHEA IS SOUTH AMERICA'S LARGEST FLIGHTLESS BIRD,
REACHING HEIGHTS OF ALMOST SIX FEET.
THOUGH FLIGHTLESS, THE RHEA HAS LONG, POWERFUL LEGS
AND IS ABLE TO MOVE SWIFTLY TO AVOID POTENTIAL PREDATORS.
LONG WINGS ARE USED TO MAINTAIN BALANCE
AS THE RHEA REACHES TOP SPEEDS OF 35 MILES AN HOUR.
(♪♪♪)
NORTH OF THE CATAL OASIS,
A MIGHTY CANYON PLUNGES DEEP BELOW A NARROW ROCK PRECIPICE.
THE VALLEY OF THE HIDDEN CITY.
(♪♪♪)
THE CANYON IS AS OLD AS THE ANDES THEMSELVES,
FORMED 65 MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN ANCIENT CONTINENTS COLLIDED
DRIVING ROCK UPWARD AS HIGH AS 23,000 FEET.
FRACTURES IN THE SHEER VOLCANIC ROCK FACE
CREATE THE IMPRESSION OF TINY BUILDINGS IN THE DISTANCE.
(♪♪♪)
THESE VALLEYS, RIPPLING WITH FORMATIONS OF VOLCANIC ROCK
ARE EMBLEMATIC OF THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO.
DESPITE THEIR GEOLOGIC SIGNIFICANCE
MANY ARE NOT CHARTED ON MAPS.
BOLIVIA IS A COUNTRY WITH AT LEAST 30 RECOGNIZED
ETHNIC GROUPS
AND MORE THAN 30 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES.
AS A RESULT, THE SAME VALLEY MAY HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT NAMES.
(♪♪♪)
BEYOND THIS HIDDEN VALLEY, ON THE EDGE OF THE ALTIPLANO,
BOLIVIA'S HIGHEST PEAK PIERCES THE CLOUDS.
MOUNT SAJAMA.
AT AN ALTITUDE OF MORE THAN 21,000 FEET,
ITS SUMMIT REMAINS CAPPED IN SNOW YEAR-ROUND.
FROM THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN,
AN ACCLIMATIZED TEAM CAN REACH THE PEAK IN THREE DAYS.
(♪♪♪)
THE FOOTHILLS AROUND MOUNT SAJAMA
SUSTAIN ONE OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST FORESTS
AT MORE THAN 16,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
(♪♪♪)
LIKE CACTI,
THESE HARDY QUEñUA TREES REQUIRE VERY LITTLE WATER.
SO CLOSE TO THE TOP OF A SOARING VOLCANO
LITTLE ELSE CAN SURVIVE.
THESE WINDSWEPT PLAINS ARE HOME
ONLY TO THOSE CREATURES STRONG ENOUGH
TO ADAPT TO THE HIGH ALTITUDE AND HARSH CLIMATE
THAT GRIPS THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
THE VICUñA, THE WORLD'S SMALLEST CAMEL,
A WILD ANCESTOR OF THE ALPACA.
THE VICUñA'S THICK, SOFT COAT TRAPS THE SUN'S HEAT
PROTECTING IT FROM FRIGID NIGHT-TIME TEMPERATURES.
(♪♪♪)
BUT THE SAME COAT THAT PROTECTS THE VICUñA FROM THE BITING COLD
NEARLY LED TO ITS EXTINCTION.
HIGHLY VALUED FOR THEIR SOFT FUR
VICUñAS WERE NEARLY WIPED OUT BY HUNTING
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY.
AT ONE POINT IN THE 1970S JUST 6,000 REMAINED.
TODAY, VICUñAS ARE PROTECTED IN BOLIVIA
AND IT IS ILLEGAL TO HUNT THEM.
POACHERS, HOPING TO TRADE VICUñA FUR
ON THE LUCRATIVE BLACK MARKET
FACE STIFF FINES AND EVEN JAIL TIME.
FORTUNATELY FOR THE VISCACHA
THEIR FUR IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF MOLTING
AND HAS NO VALUE IN THE FUR TRADE.
STILL, THEIR COAT IS THICK AND KEEPS THEM WARM,
ESPECIALLY WHILE SUNNING IN THE ROCKY FOOTHILLS.
THOUGH THEY LOOK LIKE RABBITS,
VISCACHAS ARE ACTUALLY CHINCHILLAS.
FLESHY PADS ON THEIR FEET HELP THEM MOVE QUICKLY
ON THE ROCKY TERRAIN TO EVADE PREDATORS.
(♪♪♪)
MEANWHILE, FURTHER SOUTH IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ANDES
JETS OF STEAM ERUPT FROM THE EARTH'S SUBTERRANEAN FIRES.
BOTH, A NATURAL SPECTACLE,
AND A POWERFUL INDICATION OF THE INTENSE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
THAT BEGAN TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
AND CONTINUES TO TRANSFORM THE ALTIPLANO TODAY.
(♪♪♪)
MORE THAN A KILOMETER BELOW,
HOT MAGMA CHAMBERS HEAT THE COOL GROUNDWATER
THAT FILTERS DOWN FROM VENTS IN THE SURFACE.
(♪♪♪)
THESE RESERVOIRS OF BOILING WATER CONVERT TO VAPOR
WHICH EXPLODES FROM THE EARTH IN BILLOWS OF SULFUROUS STEAM.
(♪♪♪)
STEAM POOLS, FED BY BUBBLING UNDERGROUND CAULDRONS,
BOIL AND HISS IN THE COOL ALTIPLANO GROUND,
JUST AS THEY HAVE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
(♪♪♪)
HIGH ON THE DESERT PLAIN,
THE GEOTHERMAL FIELD LEADS TO A FURTHER REMINDER
OF AN ANCIENT ERA, CHULLPAHS,
THE FUNERAL TOWERS BUILT BY THE ABORIGINAL AYMARA PEOPLE.
FROM EARTH, WATER AND ANDEAN GRASS,
AS LONG AGO AS THE 13TH CENTURY.
THE AYMARA BELIEVED IN REINCARNATION.
EACH OF THESE PROUD TOMBS POINTS TO THE EAST,
WHERE LIGHT AND HEAT FROM THE MORNING SUNRISE
NURTURE NEW LIFE.
A CHULLPAH FACING WEST, IT WAS BELIEVED,
WOULD RESULT IN THE BURNING OF THE SOUL.
(♪♪♪)
MUMMIES INSIDE THE TOMB WERE PLACED IN THE FETAL POSITION
FOR REBIRTH,
THEN ENTOMBED WITH COCOA LEAVES, GOLD AND SILVER.
GOLD TO REPRESENT THE SUN, SILVER TO REPRESENT THE MOON:
THE TWO GODS OF THE ANCESTRAL PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
WHEN THE AYMARA WERE CONQUERED BY THE SPANISH
IN THE 16TH CENTURY,
CATHOLIC CHURCHES LIKE THIS WERE BUILT ALL ALONG THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
IN SMALL HIGHLAND VILLAGES MANY PEOPLE STILL SPEAK QUECHUA,
THE LANGUAGE OF THE INCAS.
AND HERD LLAMAS AND ALPACAS
AS THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE FOR CENTURIES.
(♪♪♪)
SMALLER THAN LLAMAS,
ALPACAS ARE NOT USED AS PACK ANIMALS.
BUT ARE BRED SPECIFICALLY FOR THEIR FIBER,
WOVEN INTO SWEATERS AND BLANKETS.
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THE ALPACA'S LONG NECK HELPS IT SPOT PREDATORS.
ITS SPECIALIZED STOMACH ALLOWS IT TO ABSORB
EXTRA NUTRIENTS,
ENABLING IT TO SURVIVE ON TOUGH ALITPLANIC GRASS.
HERE, WHERE THE ANDES ARE AT THEIR WILDEST.
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FROM TOWERING, SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS...
...TO GLOWING LAKES.
THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO IS AN UNSPOILED NATURAL WONDER.
(♪♪♪)
A BREEDING GROUND FOR CREATURES
ADAPTED TO SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL HABITATS ON THE PLANET.
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A PLACE OF SURREAL DESERTS,
RESTLESS VOLCANOES,
AND VAST SEAS OF SALT
THAT HAVE REMAINED UNCHANGED FOR MILLENNIA.
HERE, NEAR THE TOP OF THE EARTH.
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