Lauca National Park is the northernmost national park in Chile and one of the most spectacular. It covers nearly 138,000 hectares of Central Andean dry puna, high altitude lakes, wetlands and mountains along the Bolivia border and is easily reached from Arica (international Highway 11 to La Paz in Bolivia passes through the Park). The Park is best known for its spectacular mountain views, in particular of the Parinacota (6330m / 20,675ft) and Pomerape (6282m / 20,610ft) volcanos which are collectively known as the Payachatas ("twin" in the Aymara language). Together with the Las Vicuñas National Reserve and Salar de Surire National Monument to the south it forms the Lauca Biosphere Reserve, recognised by UNESCO in 1981.
