Photo Gallery

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Le lama joue un grand rôle dans la vie économique des populations de la Cordillère des Andes. Sa laine est utilisée à la confection d'étoffes. Avec ses os et ses tendons les indigènes fabriquent toute une gamme d'instruments d'utilisation courante. Sa viande, séchée, est consommée avec des pommes de terre et du maïs. C'est le charki déjà à la mode durant l'époque précolombienne. - Près de Taraco, province de Huancané, Puno - Région du lac Titicaca. - 1969

The Peruvian Puna is a land of tranquillity and solitude. Behind this herd of grazing llamas, the Ubinas volcano rises to a height of 5,632 metres on the border between the departments of Moquegua and Arequipa. - Book: Picture 102 - Peru - 1976

The photograph shows a herd of llamas and alpacas, led by a herder pushing a bicycle. The vast, bright plain in the background is the Laguna de Salinas (also known as the Salar de Salinas), and the striking, snow-capped peak in the background is the highly active stratovolcano Ubinas (5,672 m). This landscape forms part of the southern section of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, which stretches across the regions of Arequipa and Moquegua in southern Peru. – 1976

A herd of domesticated llamas (Lama glama) in the mountain village of Licapa in the province of Cangallo, in the Ayacucho region. During major religious festivals – such as the famous Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Ayacucho – the herders decorate their finest pack animals with red and pink woollen tassels and ribbons on their ears. In the Andean regions, these ear decorations are often used by owners to mark their animals or to identify them during festivals and hunts. – Peru – 1976

A shepherdess with llamas and alpacas on the Altiplano, on the road from Abancay to Puquio. - Book: Picture 96 - Peru - 1976

Photo taken in the Peruvian Altiplano in winter. A herd of llamas near Pampamarca on the road from Abancay to Puquio. Ayacucho Department. - Book: Picture 92 - Peru - 1976

Alpacas and llamas graze in front of the impressive zigzag walls of Sacsayhuamán, a monumental archaeological site of the Inca civilisation situated directly above the city of Cusco. The fortress was built in the 15th century under the Inca ruler Pachacútec Yupanqui. The heaviest stones in the complex weigh over 100 tonnes. The blocks were hewn with such precision and fitted together without mortar that often not even a sheet of paper can fit between them. The historic city plan of Cusco was laid out by the Incas in the shape of a puma – the symbol of the earthly world. Sacsayhuamán formed the head of the puma, whilst the zigzag-shaped walls represented the animal’s teeth (or the lightning bolts of the thunder god Illapa). The entire complex served primarily as a ceremonial and religious centre. Today, only around 20% to 40% of the original structure remains. The Spanish removed the smaller stones to build colonial churches and houses in Cusco; however, the gigantic megaliths forming the foundations remained firmly in place. – 1969

Llamas have traditionally served as important pack animals for transporting goods in the Andes. – A plateau in the Acomayo region, south of Cusco. The striking, (still!) snow-capped peak in the background is Nevado Accoyac. – Peru – 1976

An indigenous couple return with their llamas from the market in Sicuani in the department of Cuzco. - Book: Picture 103 - Peru - 1973

From the La Paz basin, the road climbs over 1,000 metres to the La Cumbre pass (picture) at an altitude of 4,643 metres, before descending into the Yungas via countless hairpin bends through a deeply incised U-shaped valley, with the Cordillera Real towering in the background. The treeless scrub and grassy vegetation of the Puna still covers the saddle here, where indigenous people are resting with a herd of llamas. A little further down the valley, scrub begins to appear, until finally a dense forest takes over. - Book: Picture 2 - Bolivia - 1976

A herd of llamas grazes by the shallow, mineral-rich waterholes on the edge of the Salar de Coipasa. During the rainy season, parts of this arid landscape are transformed into vast, mirror-like expanses of water. – Bolivia – 1976

A herd of llamas is moving near the little village of Villa Vitalina on the edge of the Salar de Coipasa. Houses can be seen in the background. – Bolivia – 1976