This ecoregion occurs above and consists of high-elevation, wet, montane grasslands amid lakes, plateaus, valleys, and high mountains. It is bordered on the west by the Sechura Desert and on the east by the Peruvian Yungas. To the north it transitions to the Cordillera Central páramo, to the south, the Central Andean puna. The ecoregion can be subdivided into three subregions: the high andean puna, wet puna, and wet montane grassland. The high Andean puna lies between. Nightly freezes occur throughout the year and annual precipitation is less than, falling mainly as snow and hail. The wet puna is located in the altiplano at elevations between. It is wetter in the north, where the wet season lasts eight months, and drier in the south, where the wet season lasts two months. Precipitation ranges from per year. Night freezes occur from March to October. The wet montane grasslands occur in the eastern section of the ecoregion, at elevations between. They form in deep mountain valleys with glacial origins. They are more humid than the puna.
The vegetation is composed of bunchgrass communities, wetlands, small shrubs and trees, and herbaceous plants. Conspicuous grass genera include: Agrostis, Calamagrostis, Festuca, Paspalum and Stipa; in more humid areas Chusquea and Cortaderia. Asteraceae include Azorella, Baccharis, Daucus, Draba, Echinopsis, Gentiana, Geranium, Lupinus, Nototriche, Plettekea, Valeriana and Werneria. Brassicaceae include Cardamine, Draba, and Weberbauera. Campanulaceae include Lysipomia. Caryophyllaceae include Arenaria, Cerstium, and Pycnophyllum. Rosaceae include Acaena, Alchemilla, and Potentilla. Rubiaceae include Arcytophyllum, and Galium. Scrophulariaceae include Agalinis, Bartsia, and Calceolaria. The high Andean puna includes species of grasses such as Festuca dolichopylla, Stipa ichu, Calamagrostis spp. Other plants with prostrate and roseate life forms are Hypochaeris spp., Lachemilla spp., Pycnophyllum spp., Azorella spp., and Aciachne pulvinata. The wet puna is composed mostly of grasses and shrubs, with sedges and rushes in areas with poor drainage. Below, vegetation in wet areas includes Carex, Juncus, Oreobolus and Scirpus. Above, the vegetation in wet areas includes floating submerged cushion plants. Large cushions are formed by Distichia muscoides, Oxychloe andina, and Plantago rigida. Other genera include Gentiana, Hypsela, Isoetes, Lilaeopsis, Ourisia, and Scirpus. Common trees are Buddleja coriacea and Polylepis spp. Puya raimondii is a giant rosette found here. The wet montane grasslands in the region possess species not found in the wet puna. These include Gnaphalium spp. Blechnum loxense, Loricaria sp., and Achirocline sp.
Fauna
All of the Andean camelids are found in this ecoregion, including the vicuña, llama, guanaco, and alpaca. Other large mammals include the puma and the andean fox. Bats include the small big-eared brown bat and the hoary bat. Endemic bird species in the northern section of the ecoregion include the Ash-breasted tit-tyrant, the royal cinclodes, Berlepsch’s canastero, the line-fronted canastero, the olivaceous thornbill, the scribble-tailed canastero, the short-tailed finch, and the gray-bellied flower-piercer. Endemic bird species found in the southern section of the ecoregion tend to live in dense montane scrub and shrubby forest with cacti. Most of these birds live in the puna region, but others live in subtropical and temperate zones. These include the plain-tailed warbling-finch, the rufous-breasted warbling-finch, Taczanowski’s tinamou, the white-cheeked cotinga, Kalinowski’s tinamou, the white-browed tit-spinetail, the rufous-eared brush-finch, the white-tufted sunbeam, the bearded mountaineer, the striated earthcreeper, the rusty-fronted canastero, the rusty-bellied brush-finch, the chesnut-breasted mountain-finch, and the brown-flanked tanager. The southern section of the ecoregion includes the Cochabamba mountain-finch, Berlepsch’s canastero, the maquis canastero, the rufous-bellied saltator, the citron-headed yellow-finch, the scribble-tailed canastero, the short-tailed finch, the grey-bellied flower-piecer, and Berlepsch's canastero.
