The Cloudforest

Cloudforest near Chachapoyas (Amazonas)

Between the Andes and the Amazon basin is the world of the tropical cloudforests. They are growing on the eastern slopes of the Andes but are considered to be part of La Selva, and are called montaña. All over Peru from north to south, the cloudforests form a natural border between the Amazon basin and the Andes. It is a unique hemisphere.

Cloudforest Tres Cruces (Cuzco)
The cloudforest of Tres Cruces. Image © Jack Ritter

Most of the time the cloudforests are indeed covered in clouds. The region is extremely humid and has a moderate climate without extremes. The ancient city Machu Picchu is part of the montaña as well. When you look at pictures of Machu Picchu, most of the times the site is foggy or covered in clouds.

Cloudforest in Manu Biosphere Reserve

One very special cloudforest area can be seen in Tres Cruces. It is situated east of Cuzco near Paucartambo. Very isolated and difficult to reach, it is an area of extreme beauty: The sight of the mountains dropping away into the Amazon basin is exceptional, and made even more exciting by the sunrise phenomenon that occurs around the time of winter solstice on June 21. For some mysterious reason, the sunrise tends to be optically distorted, causing double images, halos and unusual colours, particularly during May, June and July.