Garua is the dry wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

s that hit the lower western slopes of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 creating a low-level of cloud. Within the Andes Mountains the garua blocks out the sun for the cooler six months of the year, and there is almost no rainfall during this period. Many native Indians and Mestizo

Mestizo

Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

ethnic groups live on the highlands because of the high altitudes and dry climate.

Motorists driving along at Peru or northern Chile may see the phenomenon. A garûa is a fog that is so clear that it poses no problem to visibility but so wet that drivers have to use their windscreen wipers.