Photo Gallery

The floor of the Cauca Rift Valley, situated at an altitude of 800 to 1,100 metres, rises gradually towards the south, reaching an altitude of 1,760 metres at Popayán and continuing through the increasingly narrow Paria Rift Valley as far as the border with Ecuador. The picture shows the rift zone south-west of Popayán. - Book: Picture 34 - Colombia - 1977

A dense cloud forest in the Puracé National Natural Park, a spectacular nature reserve in the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, located mainly in the department of Cauca and, to a small extent, in the department of Huila. The name comes from the Quechua language and means ‘Fire Mountain’, which is a direct reference to the volcanic activity in the area. Colombia – 1977

The impressive ‘Cascada La Candelaria’ is a spectacular waterfall over 150 metres high, which plunges down a steep rock face densely covered in moss and jungle vegetation. It is situated very close to the small village of Santa Leticia in the department of Cauca in Colombia. – 1977

The photograph shows the picturesque ‘Salto del Bedón’ (Cascada del Río Bedón), a mighty waterfall in the ‘Parque Nacional Natural Puracé’ in the Department of Cauca in the Colombian Andes. It is surrounded by typical páramo vegetation, including the striking large leaves of Asteropeia plants (also known as ‘giant frailjones’) and sparse grasses. – 1977

Children and teenagers washing pans and clay pots on the Río Galíndez. The river is situated in the department of Cauca in south-western Colombia. – 1977

A Sunday outing by lorry in the Colombian province of Huila. In the Andes, lorries largely replace buses. - Book: Picture 40 - Colombia - 1977

In Santa Leticia, in the municipality of Puracé in the department of Cauca, right on the border with Huila, these ‘chiva’ buses are the main means of transport and the lifeblood of the entire region. Santa Leticia lies in the rugged mountainous regions of the Central Cordillera at an altitude of over 2,100 metres. These sturdy buses are often the only vehicles capable of negotiating the unpaved roads and mountain tracks. The buses travel fully laden with sacks of food, crates and crops on the roof. – Colombia – 1977

In the rugged Andean regions around Popayán (such as the nearby Tierradentro region or Puracé National Park), chivas are often the only means of transport capable of negotiating the unpaved gravel tracks. – Colombia – Cauca Department – 1977

A view of a slum in Bucaramanga, the capital of the department of Santander in Colombia, which is also known as ‘La Ciudad Bonita’ (The Beautiful City) or ‘City of Parks’. – 1977

‘Tierradentro’ (land that lies within) forms part of the area now inhabited by the Paez people. Links are thought to exist between the cultures of San Agustín and Tierradentro; in any case, similar guardian figures are found at both sites. Tierradentro, however, occupies a special place amongst pre-Columbian cultures because of its burial chambers: caverns carved out of chalk sandstone, measuring up to 70 square metres, which are entirely painted with geometric patterns. The predominant colour of red serves as a reminder that in Mexico, too, the colour of the dead is red. - Book: Picture 60 - Colombia - 1977

"Tierradentro" (land that lies inside) belongs to the present settlement area of the Páez Indians. It is assumed that there is a connection between the cultures of San Agustín and Tierradentro, but in any case similar guardian figures can be found in both places. Tierradentro occupies a special place among the pre-Columbian cultures, however, because of its burial chambers: caverns of up to 70 square metres, hewn in chalk sandstone and completely painted with geometric ornaments. The predominant red colour reminds us that the colour of the dead is red in Mexico too. - Detail of burial chamber 10. - 1977

"Tierradentro" (land that lies inside) belongs to the present settlement area of the Páez Indians. It is assumed that there is a connection between the cultures of San Agustín and Tierradentro, but in any case similar guardian figures can be found in both places. Tierradentro occupies a special place among the pre-Columbian cultures, however, because of its burial chambers: caverns of up to 70 square metres, hewn in chalk sandstone and completely painted with geometric ornaments. The predominant red colour reminds us that the colour of the dead is red in Mexico too. - Detail of burial chamber 1. - 1977

The alpine meadows above the tree line have their counterpart in the humid tropical Northern Andes in the páramos: vast grasslands dotted with tussocks of stem-forming composite plants. The silvery-grey, downy leaves and the stems of the espeletias (frailejones), scorched by willow fires, present a ghostly sight, particularly when the mist rolls in (Páramo de Purace, Central Cordillera of Colombia). - Book: Picture 35 - Ecuador - 1977