with grasslands supporting cattle
grazing and beautiful purple flowers
along the roadside. The road paral-
lels a glacial river that runs through
the valley before climbing an endless
series of switchbacks to the summit
of Punta Olímpica at 4,890 metres.
The weather can change consider-
ably through the climb, going from
sunshine to snow at the pass. At the
summit there is a long tunnel, an im-
pressive feat of engineering measur-
ing 1,384 metres in length, that takes
you to the other side of the mountain.
The switchbacks are just as much
fun on the way down, or a quick visit
to the exit of the park yields alternate
views of the region.
If you are looking for doses of
adrenaline, you can take a detour
near the tunnel entrance at the top,
which takes you up to the ‘old’ Punta
Olímpica pass. This is an out of ser-
vice narrow road in rough shape that
TRAVERSE 24