Quebrada del Condorito National Park, National park in Córdoba Province, Argentina
Quebrada del Condorito National Park protects 37,344 hectares of the Sierras Grandes, a granite batholith raised by Andean orogeny. Its core is a gorge almost 800 metres deep, cut by the Condorito River, with stepped rocky ledges and dry grasses on the high plateau. The park lies 85 kilometres west of Córdoba city.
Human presence in these highlands dates back 11,000 years. The Comechingones lived here until the 16th-century Spanish colonization, while the earlier Ayampitín culture left temporary camps used for hunting guanaco and pampas deer. Between 1956 and 1984 several projects proposed a conservation area on the Pampa de Achala; the national park was finally created on 28 November 1996.
The name Quebrada del Condorito comes from the old Río de los Condoritos, given for the many young condors that gather in the gorge. Adults bring fledged juveniles to these ledges, probably so they learn to find food; it is not a breeding site. A 2006 census counted about 100 condors there, stable since 1996.
The park lies 85 km west of Córdoba city, at the centre of the Sierras de Córdoba; its northern boundary is the Camino de las Altas Cumbres. Trails and bike paths of varying length and difficulty are mostly signposted, and rough camping areas without services have drinking water. Snowfall is common from May to early August, and lightning strikes often hit the higher ground, so check with the National Parks Administration before setting out.
The gorge is not a breeding site: adults bring fledged juveniles here, perhaps to learn to find food, which gave the old name Río de los Condoritos. A 2006 census counted about 100 condors in the canyon, stable since 1996.
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