Lauca National Park
🇨🇱 Chile
🦙 Vicuña Herds Beside Lago ChungaráLauca National Park is a protected high-altitude grassland situated in the Chilean Altiplano, featuring vast plateaus, high-altitude wetlands, and towering volcanoes. Visitors walk along tracks that wind through sweeping Andean steppes and shimmering bogs surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
-18.232° S 69.400° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
★ 
Vicuña
Vicugna vicugna
★ 
Northern Mountain Viscacha
Lagidium viscacia
★ 
Chilean Flamingo
Phoenicopterus chilensis
★ 
North Andean Huemul
Hippocamelus antisensis
📊 Most Spotted
Mourning Sierra-Finch
Rhopospina fruticeti
Black-hooded Sierra-Finch
Phrygilus atriceps
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Bolivian Big-eared Mouse
Auliscomys boliviensis
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis plebejus
Greenish Yellow-Finch
Sicalis olivascens
Buff-winged Cinclodes
Cinclodes fuscus
Spot-winged Pigeon
Patagioenas maculosa
Andean Hillstar
Oreotrochilus estella
Bare-faced Ground-Dove
Metriopelia ceciliae
Hooded Siskin
Spinus magellanicus
Creamy-breasted Canastero
Asthenes dorbignyi
⭐ Iconic Species
★ Vicuña
Vicugna vicugna
★ Northern Mountain Viscacha
Lagidium viscacia
★ North Andean Huemul
Hippocamelus antisensis
📊 Most Spotted
Bolivian Big-eared Mouse
Auliscomys boliviensis
Guanaco
Lama guanicoe
Culpeo
Lycalopex culpaeus
White-bellied Grass Mouse
Akodon albiventer
Brown Hare
Lepus europaeus
Highland Tuco-tuco
Ctenomys opimus
Jelski's altiplano mouse
Abrothrix jelskii
Humboldt's Hog-nosed Skunk
Conepatus chinga
Andean Cat
Leopardus jacobitus
Mountain Degu
Octodontomys gliroides
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Mourning Sierra-Finch
Rhopospina fruticeti
Black-hooded Sierra-Finch
Phrygilus atriceps
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis plebejus
Greenish Yellow-Finch
Sicalis olivascens
Buff-winged Cinclodes
Cinclodes fuscus
Spot-winged Pigeon
Patagioenas maculosa
Andean Hillstar
Oreotrochilus estella
Bare-faced Ground-Dove
Metriopelia ceciliae
Hooded Siskin
Spinus magellanicus
Creamy-breasted Canastero
Asthenes dorbignyi
Chiguanco Thrush
Turdus chiguanco
📊 Most Spotted
Chungará-glatstrubeleguan
Liolaemus chungara
Tarapaca Smooth-throated Lizard
Liolaemus jamesi
Yanez's Lava Lizard
Microlophus yanezi
Brilliant Tree Iguana
Liolaemus alticolor
Peru Slender Snake
Tachymenis peruviana
Liolaemus tacnae
Liolaemus tacnae
Liolaemus pleopholis
Liolaemus pleopholis
Recent sightings in Lauca National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
2Giant Coot Nesting at Lago Chungará
Giant Coots build and tend enormous floating nest platforms of aquatic vegetation on Lago Chungará, with breeding activity peaking in the austral spring
3Vicuña Calving Season
Vicuña family groups give birth to their single crias during the altiplano wet season, with newborns visible beside the herds on the bofedales
1Altiplano Flamingo Congregation
Wet-season (Andean summer) congregation of three flamingo species — Chilean, Andean and James's — feeding in the shallow wetlands of Lago Chungará and the Cotacotani lagoons
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Altiplano Flamingo Congregation
- 2Giant Coot Nesting at Lago Chungará
- 3Vicuña Calving Season
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Lauca National Park?
The most likely sightings are Northern Mountain Viscacha (seen by about 90% of wildlife watchers), Vicuña (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Mourning Sierra-Finch (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Black-hooded Sierra-Finch (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Rufous-collared Sparrow (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers) — among 335 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Lauca National Park for wildlife?
May has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Vicuña in Lauca National Park?
Yes — about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Vicuña sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Northern Mountain Viscacha in Lauca National Park?
Yes — about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Mountain Viscacha sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 96 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Chilean Flamingo in Lauca National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chilean Flamingo sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 640 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see North Andean Huemul in Lauca National Park?
Yes — about 60% of wildlife watchers report a North Andean Huemul sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
