Life in The Paramo

Thousands of feet above sea level, the Ecuadorian Paramo is an Andean environment, where only the strongest survive. Trees and plants must huddle together for warmth, and organisms must adapt to survive high levels of UV, arctic temperatures, and low level of nutrients in the soil. If you venture out into the harsh terrain, you must brace yourself for the same conditions. Covered from head to foot in order to evade the cold wind, the snow and rain, and the intense sunlight, you feel like I you have stepped onto another planet. But there is an unparalleled beauty to this desolate land. Volcanoes that stand as giants against the brilliant blue sky, seem to be pulled from the dreams of a fantasy painter. The wind is so strong you are unsure if you won’t be picked up and be blown across the face of the gold touched valleys. The feeling of open space is one that not many places on the planet still possess. You can stand at the base of the mountains and watch the landscape spread out for miles and miles. Your breath is short, perhaps because the air is so thin, or maybe because you have glimpsed a remnant of the majesty the world once held before humankind walked the planet.

~Sydney Lewark
SIT Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation