Adventure: Chile : Llama Drama : Two Filmmakers, in Search of South America’s ‘Humpless Camels,’ Also Find Strange Beauty in Two of the Country’s Magnificent National Parks

Judging solely by the map, this would seem to be one of the most bizarre countries on Earth. Averaging only 110 miles in width, it stretches along South America’s lower Pacific coast for about 2,600 miles, a distance encompassing four-mile-high volcanic peaks, bone-chilling glaciers, dead salt lakes, fairy-tale-like fiords, bone-dry desert and sky-high plateaus.

All of this may suggest, if not an alien planet, at the very least an inhospitable land for tourists. But Chile is, in fact, a nation with modern cities, good transportation and comfortable accommodations. Perhaps best of all for nature lovers, it has an extensive network of magnificent national parks filled with endless wonders and run by a helpful, conservation-minded government agency known as CONAF, short for Corporacion Nacional Forestal.

We came to Chile last year not as tourists, but as filmmakers. Our purpose was to make a television program for the PBS series “Nature,” about South America’s “humpless camels”: the llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos that have populated the Andes for millennia. We found those animals in great abundance, but we also discovered other natural delights in a setting far away from the trampled paths of tourism. For travelers inclined to exotic wildlife and improbable landscapes, Chile’s national parks are a fantasy fulfilled.

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We began our 3 1/2-month journey in the nation’s capital, Santiago, built on a series of hills watched over by snow-capped Andean sentinels. Situated in Chile’s central region about 50 miles from the ocean, Santiago is an up-to-date metropolis with a historic city center and far-flung suburbs, all served by an efficient subway.

We stayed in the fashionable Providencia district, but unfortunately had only a couple of days to explore the city before setting out for the first of our two principal destinations: Torres del Paine National Park, which sits on the edge of the Patagonian Ice Cap at the tip of the continent northwest of Tierra del Fuego.

To reach Torres del Paine, we first had to fly to Punta Arenas, where we rented a four-wheel-drive vehicle for the 160-mile drive north to Puerto Natales, a port town set along the fiord-dotted region reminiscent of Norway. Puerto Natales has many friendly guest houses in which two people can stay for about $25 a night. Minibus tours of Torres originate here, even though it’s another three hours’ drive to the park entrance. Having come this far, though, it’s preferable to venture into the park in your own vehicle, as your own boss.

How else can one take the time to appreciate such chimerical sights as green parakeets dipping low over icebergs that break off the Grey Glacier, and flocks of five-foot rheas (a close relative of the African ostrich) casually congregating around the watery bogs that dot lush, rolling hills interspersed with thick forests of Southern beech.

Dominating the park are the torres themselves--majestic mountain towers that mark the southern end of the Andes--and their somewhat smaller but even more dramatic cousins, the Horns of Paine, which jut 8,500-9,000 feet straight up out of a broad rocky outcrop.

In the center of the 600-square-mile park is the breathtakingly blue Lake Pehoe. And in the lake is a remarkable non-natural sight: a hotel. Built on a small island and reached by a footbridge, the Hotel Pehoe commands an extraordinary vista of mountain glaciers, lake and forest.

Perhaps for this reason, the hotel’s designer saw no reason to try to compete aesthetically. The Pehoe comprises an Alpine-style main building and a complex of adjacent structures with accommodations that range from quite comfortable to rather crude. The food is good.

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The park’s proximity to the bottom of the planet means the weather cannot be counted among its many virtues. During our stay in January, during the height of the South American “summer,” the feeling was autumnal and very strong winds blew most of the time.

But it was not sun but guanacos we had come to see. Wild guanacos and vicunas--along with their domesticated cousins, llamas and alpacas--are part of a family of South American ruminants (cud-chewers) that do not have humps like their Asian camel counterparts. They do share some camel traits, however, such as long necks and the ability to conserve water.

Guanacos are the largest of the “llama” group which fall under the Latin genus Lama . Standing about five feet high at the shoulder, they are prized for their magnificent wool coats, for which they have been unmercifully hunted (and skinned, rather than shorn) for centuries. In the 1500s, as many as 35 million of them roamed the continent; their numbers had dwindled to 600,000 by the 1970s. Today guanacos are protected in all Andean nations except Argentina, and their number has risen to an estimated 1.5 million.

About several hundred guanacos now reside in Torres, and herds can be seen quite easily while driving through the park. We also observed them more closely by blending into the scenery. Guanacos aren’t dangerous, but they are wild and wary about humans. To get moderately close--perhaps 100 yards--it’s best to plant yourself quietly in the vicinity of a herd and let them graze toward you.

We found it fascinating to watch these animals’ “sensitivity” to the environment. Their facial anatomy--a split upper lip, for instance--allows them to graze without pulling up delicate plants by the roots. And soft, padded hooves do little or no damage to the plants they walk on. Thus, the grazing land renews itself much faster than if, say, cattle had worked it over.

Guanacos and their Lama genus cousins also practice a form of population control by maintaining strict family sizes that never overtax the grazing territory each group controls. When they are about a year old, offspring are forced out of the family and its territory to form other herds on different grasslands.

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We observed the graceful guanacos for three weeks before returning to Santiago to buy provisions before heading out for our other photographic prey, the wild vicunas of Lauca National Park.

Lauca lies more than 2,000 miles to the north of Torres, in northernmost Chile, just a few miles from the borders of Bolivia and Peru. A greater contrast between the two parks is scarcely imaginable: Torres is lush and green, and mostly near sea level, Lauca is beautifully stark and treeless, and even its level parts are three miles high.

In addition to vicunas, we also wanted to film the domesticated llamas and alpacas so crucial to the lives of the local Aymara Indians for thousands of years. They are used for meat and for wool (llama wool is made into sturdy material, such as rope; softer coated alpaca is for cloth).

We landed in the coastal town of Arica, worth lingering in for a day or so to enjoy the mild ocean air and other delights, including a cathedral of prefabricated steel built by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the French civil engineer who designed the celebrated Parisian tower.

Having rented a four-wheel-drive vehicle, we left Arica for the spectacular 90-mile drive east to the village of Putre, at the edge of the altiplano , Chile’s high plains region. A four-wheel-drive isn’t necessary unless you want to leave the main road, as we did. As in Torres del Paine, bus tours of Lauca National Park are available, originating in Arica.

Putre, five miles from the entrance to the park, sits 11,500 feet above sea level. It’s a wise idea to stop and relax here for a couple of days before venturing to higher elevations; failure to adjust to the altitude increases the risk of saroche , the Spanish word for altitude sickness. Strong sun block lotion is also recommended as protection against powerful rays here.

Putre acquired some measure of international fame not long ago when rock star Michael Jackson was reported to have sent a representative here to purchase a prized llama. The village of perhaps 600 people is also less than 10 miles from 4,000-year-old cave paintings. We were surprised to learn that access to the paintings is not restricted by officials, and the local CONAF office made arrangements for us to hire a local guide and a mule to carry supplies. The route follows an old Inca road for about eight miles, and then the guide led us down to a gorge where the caves are hidden.

The road from Putre to Lauca National Park, about 30 by 20 miles in size, sharply ascends to a level close to the park’s average altitude, slightly more than 15,000 feet. Astoundingly, even at that height it is still necessary to look sharply upward at the volcanic Andean peaks, some of which rise to nearly 21,000 feet.

At about 14,800 feet is Lake Chungara, one of the world’s highest lakes and surely one of its most magical. In early morning and at sunset, the shores of Chungara offered a visual feast, as flamingos, geese and an amazing variety of other waterfowl assembled by the thousands in the golden-orange light. Most unforgettable, however, was the sight of the rare giant Andean coot, big as a turkey, swimming around their floating nests by the hundreds.

Not far away, near the base of volcanic Mt. Parinacota, Lake Cotocotani is surrounded by a whimsically freakish landscape of twisted lava. Nearby is an Aymara village with a 17th-Century church where we witnessed another curious sight: Woodpeckers, perhaps frustrated to be living so far above the tree line, were tapping their holes into the church walls.

But we came to Lauca mostly to see some of its 22,000 vicunas. The golden fleece of this dainty creature produces the finest natural wool in the world, softer than the finest cashmere. The Incas prized the fleece so highly that only royalty was permitted to wear cloth spun from it. The Spanish Conquistadores had no such exclusive inclinations. Unable to capture the swift animals for sheering, they shot vicunas by the tens of thousands in order to reap quick riches. Poachers carried on this work in later years, and by the mid-1960s the vicuna was nearly extinct.

Aided by stringent laws, the vicuna is thriving again in many parts of the Andes. Three feet high at the shoulder, the vicuna is the smallest, sleekest member of the humpless camels, and displays the same environmentally friendly grazing and population tendencies as his guanaco cousins.

Lauca is frequently intersected by streams flowing out of mountain snow packs, many of which feed into bofedales , boggy areas where vicunas and other wildlife congregate. The best way to spot wildlife is to plant yourself a few hundred feet from a bog at about 9 a.m., then wait quietly, with a telephoto camera lens or binoculars. It may take hours, but you’ll return home with photos rarely taken by anyone beyond the scientific community.

GUIDEBOOK

Natural Chile

Getting there: There are no nonstop flights to Santiago from Los Angeles, but American, Ladeco Chilean and LAN Chile airlines offer direct and connecting service via Miami. Lowest round-trip advance-purchase fare is $1,144 on the two Chilean carriers, $1,350 on American. Both Chilean carriers provide daily service to Punta Arenas and Arica.

When to go: Because the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, November through April is the best time to visit. Despite the ice cap’s proximity to Torres del Paine, daily high temperatures in the “summer” average close to 50 degrees, but often there is considerable wind and frequent rain. Nightly temperatures are about 40 degrees, but with little wind. In Lauca National Park, temperatures vary widely on the high plains, from comfortable daytime highs to well below freezing at night.

Tours: Wilderness Travel in Berkeley (800-368-2794) has three upcoming tours (17-24 days, November through March) to Chile’s Patagonia region that include visits of two to five days to Torres del Paine. Two are hiking trips through the park and the other is mostly by bus, Jeep and train; cost ranges $2,495-$3,295. Wilderness also arranges a 19-day Jeep tour in the Andes that begins in La Paz, Bolivia, and crosses the Chilean border to visit Lauca National Park.

Olson-Travel World in Torrance (800-421-2255) has 23-day tours that begin in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and visit Chile’s Patagonia region, including Torres del Paine, from October to March. Land price: $5,190 per person, with meals and lodging.

Path Tours in Newhall (800-843- 0400) says it can arrange specially tailored excursions to Torres del Paine for individuals and small groups. A two-night package to the park from Punta Arenas costs $669 per person.

Where to stay: In Santiago, the 60-room Hotel los Espanoles, 2539 Providencia; tel. 011-56-2-232-18-24, fax 011-56-2-233-10-48. About $75 for double bed with breakfast. It’s in the fashionable Providencia district within walking distance of many restaurants.

Torres del Paine National Park: Hosteria Pehoe (21 de Mayo, 1460 Punta Arenas, tel. 011-56-61-24-13-73). About $120 per night for a double bed, with three meals. Majestic setting on Lake Pehoe. Necessary to book several months in advance since the 60 rooms are steadily occupied. Also, low-end rates are for very basic, small rooms with tiny bathrooms contained within a long wooden hut. A second hotel in the park, the Posada Rio Serrano, situated near the park’s CONAF headquarters station, offers very simple accommodations and is also much in demand during summer (our winter). The Posada has the park’s only shop selling food, gasoline and other provisions. Three weeks ago, a new luxury hotel, Los Exploradores de la Patagonia, opened on the shore of Lake Pehoe. It has 30 rooms with private baths for $195 per double; for reservations, tel. 011-56-2- 228-80-81, fax 011-56-2-208-54-79.

Lauca National Park: In Arica, the Hotel El Paso, P.O. Box 1152, tel. 011-56-58-23-19-65. About $70 per night for a double bed. A pleasant bungalow-style, medium-grade establishment set in a lovely botanical garden with hummingbirds. In Putre, the 60-room Hosteria Las Vicunas has comfortable bungalow-style quarters at $45 per night (fax c/o Pavlovic y Krause Ltda., marked “Hotel Fax Arica,” 011-56-58- 22-21-18). There are no conventional accommodations within Lauca National Park, but park officials will usually allow visitors to bed down at their stations (a warm sleeping bag is recommended).

For more information: Contact the Chilean National Tourist Board, 9700 S. Dixie Highway, 11th Floor, Miami, Fla. 33156, (305) 670-1961.