Green hills
In the fog season.
Christian Cruzado — CC BY 2.0 · Ibrehaut (Ivan Brehaut L.) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ibrehaut (Ivan Brehaut L.) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ibrehaut — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ibrehaut (Ivan Brehaut L.) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Lachay National Reserve is a protected area in Peru's Lima region, 105 km north of the capital and about 83 km in a straight line from Lima's Plaza Mayor. It protects part of the unusual «lomas» ecosystem. Lomas are hills in the coastal desert that catch enough moisture in winter for plants to thrive, despite the drought that grips them in summer. In the wet season from June to October the hills turn green, and in the dry season from January to May the land is barren. Sechuran foxes and many birds live here, including the vermilion flycatcher and the burrowing owl, and old farming terraces and pottery have been found. In the fog season, green covers the soft hills, huge rounded boulders rise from them, and twisted trees loom as silhouettes in the mist. Moss and fungi grow on the trunks, and birds flit through the branches. Visit from July to October, when the hills are green. Marked walking trails run through the reserve, and the fog season is damp and cool, so bring a jacket.
In the fog season.
Rounded, among the grass.
In the branches.
Lachay National Reserve, north of Lima, Peru
June to October, best from July.
Desert hills greened by winter moisture.