La Cordillera Occidental Colombiana transecto Tatamá

This volume 6 of the series Studies on Tropical Andean Ecosystems, contains the results of the Colombian Western Cordillera around latitude 5° N. The fieldwork was realized in 1983. The transect consists of two parts, the first between 500 m and 2150 m altitude located slightly South of 5° N, at the latitude of San José del Palmar, and the other slightly North of 5° N, at the latitude of Santuario and the Tatamá massif, between 2150 and 4200 m altitude. The total transect was therefore named: „The Tatamá transect“. The Tatamá massif was almost totally unknown; there were no reliable maps of the area, and very few persons had intended to penetrate the area or scale the highest peaks. The penetration and study of this area was therefore an adventure into the unknown, in an area that showed to be principally virgin, without any signs of the presence or influence of man, today or in the past. Coming from the east, once a relatively low part of the crest-line of the Western Cordillera at an altitude of 3700 m is reached, towards the west a landscape unfolds of incredible beauty, with broad valleys of glacial origin at altitudes of 3500 m, the valley slopes covered with high Andean virgin forest, the valley floors partly marshy or with lakes, covered with open vegetation of paramo-type, with „frailejones“ (Espeletia). The weeks we passed in this entral part of the Tatamá and the western slopes of the Cordillera, were full of marvelous experiences and emotions, of enthusiasm: the discovery of an altitudinal forest limit that is gradual and without any human influence, beautiful landscapes, birds without fear for man, the marks of the presence of felines and bears. Finally, with a small group, we searched for, and after several days arrived at the highest central part, and climbed one of the peaks of approximately 4100 m. We gave poetic names to the valleys: Valle de Las Mirlas, Valle de Los Lagos, Valle del Encanto, Valle del Oso, Valle de San Francisco, Quebrada Santa Clara, and we became convinced that this was an area that was worth to be conserved totally in its original state, without human influence, for future generations. Back in Bogotá, we proposed therefore to the government to declare the Tatamá Area National Park. This was realized in 1986, when Inderena included it by means of resolution 0045 of the 20th of October of that year, in the National Park System. The editors P. S. In this volume we included some chapters that contain studies of several colleagues in other paramos of the Western Cordillera: Frontino, Farallones de Cali and El Duende. We consider these an important contribution to the knowledge of the area.