National Park Los Cardones

An ancient Inca legend about love explains the origin of the cardoon and its lovely white flower. It tells of Pasakana, the daughter of a powerful Inca chieftain, who did not have parental permission to marry, and eloped with Kehuailli, her fiancé. The lovers asked Pachamama for her protection and she kindly hid them in a cloak of earth. Pachamama raised Kehuaillu wrapped in a green poncho under which he embraced his sweet love. When Pasakana wishes to look at the beauty of the surrounding mountains, in order not to be recognized she emerges from beneath the poncho in the shape of a beautiful flower.

 

Upland nature

 

The climate of most of the region is arid with average winter temperatures around 11ºC (minimum below zero) and 18ºC (maximum over 30ºC). over 90% of the yearly precipitations falls in the summer season (October to March), and does not exceed 150 mm per annum on the average. Relative ambient humidity is minimal, snow is rare.

Relief is varied, with the results that within the park there are three types of habitat – mountains, upland plateaus gently sloping down away from the mountains, and valleys, the lowest parts of the park (Tonco river, Amblayo and Tin-Tin). Elevations go from 2400 meters above sea-level at the confluence of the Tonco river with the Cardonal stream in the south of the park, to 5226 meters above sea level at the top of mount Negro or Malcante in the NE corner. There are no permanent water-courses in the region but with the sudden heavy downpours of summer the dry beds become raging torrents.

In this season it is wise to be careful as the water can cut roads. When rain stops all streams quickly return to normal conditions. In some areas such as the Grande (or Hervidro) bog the water accumulates in shallow lakes of several squares kilometers in extent.

 

Various Vegetation Types

 

Within the park you will find four different vegetation types, each growing where conditions determine the plant community. Scrub vegetation is dominated by scattered creosote bushes which branch from the very base, possess few and sparse small shiny leaves covered in a waxy substance which reduces evaporation; they which are resinous to deter browsing by animals. Between these, and under their protection when small, grow the cardoons, the columnar cactuses which are typical of region and after which the national park is named.

Churqui woods , of a form of thorny Prosopis of parasol shape and which can grow to 12 meters in height; they grow in certaib areas of the Tin-Tin valley. A pure stand of these trees is the largest patch of such woods in the NW of the country and is known as the “Churcal”.

The upland grasslands with frequent mist and abundant summer rains is only found in an area known as the Valle Encantado while the higher elevation puna grasslands consist of grasses in scattered and tougher clumps. Here too we find the cushion plants such as Yareta which hug the ground and give the landscapes small splashes of green.

In very few places in this dry environment there are boggy valley bottoms which are favourite grazing areas for the guanacos.

 

Giant cactuses

 

Like sentries posted on the slopes, the cardoon is not only the emblematic plant of the NW, but a key species of the Puna. The fully grown specimens store water in quantity within their trunks. The ten centimeter thorns not only protect the plant but, with waxy skin, reduce evaporation, very necessary in such arid habitats. Growth is so slow that the white flowers which bloom in bunches, only appear when the plant is some 50 years old. They open at night and only stay open for part of the next day. The fruit, known as “pasacana”, lacks thorns and is a source of food not only for man but for numerous species of fauna.

In the Puna cardoon wood has many uses: for roofing beams in the homes, to make rustic furniture, toys and even, suitably hollowed out, the trunks are made into drums.

Within the park the plants are protected and they may not be harvested.

 

About the animals

 

The guanaco, a South American member of the camel family, is the most noticeable animal in the park, living in herds of some nine to fifteen individuals in the areas of Cachipampa and Cerro Negro. Others, such as the puma, the red fox, grey fox, Geoffroy's can and the hog-nosed skunk, are safe in the park from the poachers who hunted them here before the park was set up.

There is a great variety of small animals which are harder to find – the white – bellied opossum, a smallish armadillo, Andean brush-tailed degus and the mountain vizcacha are all important elements in the habitat. There are about 100 species of bird in the park, the most notable being the majestic Andean condor, the giant hummingbird and the white-fronted wood-pecker; the Andean form of the red-winged tinamou is hard to see as it scuttles away through the grasses. Falcons, doves, birds of prey, parrots and a host of small birds complete the picture.

 

Travel through time

  The area of the park was important in pre-Hispanic times to the people who lived here, because of the resources and its strategic position between the Calchaquí and Lerma valleys. Some thousand years ago the area was used by herders for the pasturage and waterholes; and was of importance for rituals and artistic expressions as is borne out by the numerous shelters with rock-art. In Inca times things changed with the advent of trails which connected the carious administrative and productive centres, thus facilitating control of the territory from the imperial capital.

The original peoples of the Calchaquí valley offered resistance to the Spanish invasion and it was not till the beginning off the XVIIth century that they were dominated.

 

Today…

 

Only 27 families live within Los Cardones National Park . Their main activity is sheep and goat farming, agriculture and home-produced cheeses from their domestic animals. National Parks' policy is to work with these people with the object of bettering their standard of living, adapting and controlling their livestock practices to the conservation aims of National Parks; the cooperation of these settlers is fundamental to achieving these goals.