Ravi Raahi

  Destination Purmamarca Colourful region in Northern Argentina   November 2022   by Ravi Chandra Gundakaram   Purmamarca is a must-visit destination in Northern Argentina, with its lovely coloured rock formations and cactuses. This post is on the route to Purmamarca, and some of the beautiful sights that you can see in Purmamarca itself. One of the railway bridges that you can see enroute. I didn’t see a train on it, though.. Cactuses on a slope. Huge cactuses, some about 15 feet tall! A cactus flower in bloom. More about this when we visit Parque los Cardones. Another flower, right on top! We see two railway bridges here, almost parallel to each other. Since the engineers constructing the railway line had decided not to have steep gradients in the tracks, the way to go to higher altitudes is to go back and forth in zigzags, parallel to the slope of the hill. A railway line to nowhere (as on date). But I saw work on the tracks in full swing, and people...

  Parque Nacional los Cardones Northern Argentina   November 2022   by Ravi Gundakaram   One of the interesting places enroute Cachi is the Parque nacional los Cardones. This park has an abundance of the cardon grande cactus, which can grow over 7 metres tall, with diameter of about a quarter of a metre. Cactuses are protected in Argenina by law. Each cactus flower can have a hundred thousand seeds or more, but hardly one or two of these have the chance to grow into another plant. Since the environment is harsh, it is difficult for a cactus seed to take root and even when does, the first few years of its life are very critical. For a seed to successfully grow into a plant, it should have fallen under the shade and protection of another plant, such as a shrub or a bush. Once the critical time has passed and the plant has survived, it will grow into a majestic cactus ! The sign that welcomes us to the Park! A small Chapel at high altitude on the way to Ca...