Author(s): Tui De Roy

Coffee Table Books

The Andes are the youngest, longest, most varied mountain range on earth. Journey south through 67 degrees of latitude along this geologically dynamic chain, which encompasses rain forests, volcanoes, deserts, geysers, vast salt plains, cloud forests, glaciers and even an ice cap, the only one outside the polar regions. Many parts of this magnificent mountain chain are little-explored, and yet the Andes are incredibly rich, both geologically and biologically. Jewel-like hummingbirds, secretive woolly tapirs and rare spectacled bears live in the warmer forests of the north; pumas and shy taruka deer survive the high, windswept plateaux in Peru; and even the strange mineral-laden lakes of the Bolivian Altiplano, a vast high-altitude basin surrounded by mountains and perched more than two miles above sea level, support thousands of flamingos. The undisputed king of this magical realm is the great Andean condor, the largest and heaviest of all flying land birds. Ranging over the whole of the Andes, it seeks out the wildest places, far from human contact, and it is to these places that Tui De Roy is also drawn, to capture some of the most breathtaking landscapes and fascinating creatures the world has to offer. The culmination of 25 years of photo journeys, The Andes is about the mountains untouched by humanity; the way they have always been.