Baritú National Park, National park in Santa Victoria Department, Salta Province, Argentina
Baritú National Park covers 72,439 hectares of rugged terrain in Santa Victoria Department, northern Salta, with hills 300 to 400 metres high covered in montane rainforest. The Baritú, Lipeo and Las Pavas rivers, all rising in the easternmost Andean cord and draining to the Plata basin via the Bermejo, run through a landscape enclosed by the De las Pavas and Negro hills. Tree ferns up to 4 metres tall grow beneath the canopy.
Argentina established this protected area in 1974 to safeguard the region's cloud forests and endangered wildlife. The creation marked a commitment to preserving this rare forest ecosystem from further disturbance.
Indigenous Kichwa and Quechua communities have long gathered medicinal plants from the forest for healing and ceremonial purposes. Their knowledge and presence remain woven into the landscape and daily rhythms of the region today.
The park sits in a remote mountain location near the Bolivian border, making a visit require careful planning and coordination across country lines. Access is challenging, so visitors should research routes and conditions ahead of time to arrive well prepared.
This protected area is Argentina's only tropical national park, where jaguars, tapirs, and Andean bears roam within their forest habitat. This rare forest type now exists in very few places, making this one of the last strongholds where these animals can thrive.
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