The Puya Raymondii is a giant bromeliad that can grow up to 10 m (33ft) high. Bromeliads are best known as small houseplants and are related to the pineapple. In English it’s called the Queen of the Andes and it’s one of the oldest plants still alive on earth and sometimes referred to as a “living fossil.”

It’s takes about 100 years for the plant to reach adulthood, but when they do they can produce about 8,000 flowers at a time. This obviously makes them very valuable for the birds and insects in their habitat, especially for hummingbirds which do most of the plant’s pollination.

There is another spot, south of Ayacucho, where you can see puyas on the Vilcashuamán tour. Besides Ayacucho, another great place to see a Puya raimondii is Huaraz.

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