Travelling through NW Argentina and up towards the magical Puna, the foothills of the Andes where the air is thin, we encounter an incredible landscape.

This is  the Los Cardones National Park, 600 sq miles of high altitude semi-desert, taking its name from the wonderful Cardon Cactus, the biggest cactus in the world.

Although this is a desert, night time temperatures frequently drop below freezing and on rare occasions it even snows. For a week, our ‘Living Wild in South America’ expedition stayed in the area studying the high desert wildlife.

The natural history is specialized, the plants extraordinary and  the landscape stark and beautiful.  Dominating the scene is the majestic Cardon, standing proudly above the low vegetation.

The Cardon Cactus is slow growing and long lived, the one pictured above is probably 250 years old.

The Cactus has deep fleshy lobes separated by grooves running its length. This way it greatly enlarges its surface area and so enables it to catch more sunlight and therefore produce more Chlorophyll., the energy creator of all plants.

 

The first 10 years is most critical for the young cactus. Its skin is thin and tender and requires shelter from both the intense cold and the strong midday sun.

A young cactus will only grow and develop in the shelter of a Larrea, otherwise called the creosote bush.

This low spiky plant is a vital part of Cactus eco-system, without which the Cardon could not grow