Llama Caravans 
of the Andes 
For centuries, llama trade caravans have provided 
the principal link between pastoralists of the Andean 
highlands and agriculturists who inhabit the valleys 
by Terry L. West 
From Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, the 
Desaguadero River meanders south- 
ward for 200 miles to Lake Poopo. Off 
the southern edge of this lake, at an 
altitude of some 12,000 feet, lies the 
canton of Pampa Aullagas. The 3,000 
Aymara-speaking inhabitants of this 
cold and arid plateau region subsist on a 
combination of pastoralism and agricul- 
ture, raising sheep and llamas for meat 
and wool and cultivating potatoes and 
quinoa, a native cereal. Because frost 
and drought endanger even these high- 
altitude crops, which are the dietary 
staples of the area, the people of Pampa 
Aullagas depend on exchange with peo- 
ple living at lower altitudes, where agri- 
culture is less precarious. Like pastoral- 
ists throughout the Andean highlands, 
they not only have the motive to engage 
in trade but also possess the means — 
