Amancay Sanctuary, Lurin, Lima, Peru
LIMA HILLS
“These mists, which envelop the days in brown tones, represent the most propitious time of the year for the inhabitants of Lima and other cities in the Llanos to go out to enjoy the countryside and admire the beauty of the hills, which in these months of drizzle look so green and flowery.”
Bernabé Cobo y Peralta, SJ (Lopera, Jaén, Crown of Castile; 1582-Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru; October 9, 1657)
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A FRAGILE ECOSYSTEM
Lima is the region with the largest number of coastal hills in the country. The hills have a microclimate created by the humidity of the proximity to the sea and a condensation that results in intense fog, creating an ideal microclimate for the development of special hill flora.
In the hills we can distinguish two “seasons”; the wet season, which runs from June to October, and the dry season, which runs from November to May. In each “season”, we can observe a type of flower characteristic of that climatic context.
The hills have a type of flora, restricted to this habitat, composed of endemic species, which means that they are only found in this ecosystem.
In this series I make a selection of 12 species of flora from Lomas de Lima, all native, mostly endemic and at risk for reasons such as habitat loss due to land trafficking or urban growth, overgrazing, illegal mining, solid waste pollution and informal non-metallic mining.