The national parks of Argentina are one of the country's
principal lures, encompassing the gamut of ecosystems and scenery
that exist here, from arid dry chaco thornscrub to subtropical
jungle, from high Andean peaks to Atlantic coastline. Though some
parks were established purely for their fabulous scenery, many
others - especially the more recently established ones - were
created to protect examples of different ecosystems. In addition,
some protect important archeological or geological sites. The parks
vary in size from the minuscule botanical reserve of Colonia
Benítez in Chaco Province, less than a tenth of a square kilometre
in size, to the grand and savage Parque Nacional Los Glaciares in
Santa Cruz, which covers some six thousand square kilometres.
These national protected areas fall into four different
categories - Parques Nacionales, Reservas Naturales, Reservas
Naturales Estrictas , and Monumentos Naturales - but the
distinctions between them have little relevance to the tourist,
although it is as well to be aware that a monumento natural
is used to refer to individual species, such as the native
Patagonian Andean deer, the huemul , as well as to places.
More relevant to the tourist are the different degrees of
protection that exist within the parks: strict scientific zones (
zonas intangibles ) that are not open to the general public,
zones with routes of public access that are otherwise under full
protection, and buffer zones where locals engage in certain limited
forms of sustainable exploitation (such as forestry and the hunting
of introduced species). The situation is complicated by the
presence of indigenous communities in some parks, while in others
there are enclaves of privately owned land which even
guardaparques (rangers) must ask permission to enter.
The most famous parks of all are the subtropical
Iguazú in the northeastern province of Misiones, with its
famous waterfalls, and the great Patagonian parks that protect the
lakes and subantarctic forests of the mountainous border with Chile
- most notably Nahuel Huapi , by Bariloche in Río Negro
Province, and Los Glaciares , near El Calafate in Santa
Cruz, with its twin attractions of the Perito Moreno Glacier and
the Fitz Roy trekking sector. Lanín , with its famous
volcano and monkey puzzle forests, Los Alerces and Perito
Moreno (distinct from the glacier) are two other mighty
Patagonian Andean parks, and in Parque Nacional Tierra del
Fuego the Andes meet the Beagle Channel. One of the easiest
national parks to access from Buenos Aires is El Palmar , in
the province of Entre Ríos, a savannah plain studded with graceful
native palms. Famous for its cloudforest are the northwestern
mountain parks of Baritú, Calilegua and El Rey .
Geologically fascinating are the spectacular canyon of
Talampaya in La Rioja Province, and the Bosques
Petrificados (Petrified Forests) in Santa Cruz.
In addition to the national parks, Argentina has an array of
provincial nature reserves and protected areas, the most
exceptional of which is the Península Valdés , on the coast
of Chubut near Puerto Madryn. Valdés is one of the country's
leading tourist attractions and the most reliable of all
destinations for seeing wildlife. Its marine mammals are the star
attraction, principally the southern right whales which come to
breed here. It is also one of the finest places to see the animals
of the Patagonian steppe. Another good place for spotting this
wildlife is at Punta Tombo , also in Chubut Province. This
reserve is most famous for sheltering the largest colony of
Magellanic penguins on the continent. The Esteros de Iberá
swampland in Corrientes Province, is good for spotting cayman and
capybara as well as a remarkable variety of birdlife. In Mendoza,
the Parque Provincial Aconcagua was set up to protect South
America's highest peak, while Ischigualasto in San Juan
protects a famous, desertified lunar landscape with bizarrely
eroded geological formations.