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A rather austere park, Parque Nacional Lihue Calel , 226km south of Santa Rosa, is dominated by the softly contoured granite sierras which run east to west across its 100 square kilometres. Formed through volcanic activity some 200 million years ago, the sierras emerge from a tract of wild open scrub, typical of the south of the province. Their slippery layers of ignimbrite rock retain hints of a violent origin in the cavities formed by the burst bubbles that pockmark their surface. The sierras help to retain water from the region's scarce rainfall and, it is claimed, to moderate La Pampa's fierce summer temperatures. As a result the park harbours a richer variety of vegetation than is found in the surrounding area. This phenomenon, referred to as a microclimate , was more succinctly described by the region's Indian inhabitants when they called the place the "Sierra of Life" (Lihue Calel means just that in the Araucanian language). Despite its modest topography, Lihue Calel can be a stunning place: enhanced by the low light of sunrise or sunset, the intense reddish hues of the sierras glow against the surrounding countryside. In dull or rainy weather, however, scrub and rock merge gloomily with the threatening sky and the park can seem a bleak place indeed. A couple of days should suffice to see Lihue Calel: much of the park is off limits to visitors, although the part which has been made accessible contains its most scenic areas, including the highest peak, the Cerro Alto (590m). The region's first inhabitants, hunter-gatherers, have left behind paintings in the park's Valle de las Pinturas . The meaning of these delicate geometric designs, some 2000 years old, is still unclear - indeed they may have been purely decorative. Though protected from the elements by overhanging rock formations, they have been damaged by vandalism and a barrier has been put up to stop you getting too close. In the nineteenth century, Lihue Calel was the last base of Namuncara, a famous Araucanian cacique, who finally surrendered to Argentinian forces in 1884, after various bloody battles. More recently, the park was an estancia; the unremarkable jumble of adobe ruins known as the Casco de Santa Maria is all that is left of the homestead, dismantled by the owners when the region was expropriated for the creation of the park. As well as calden trees and jarilla bushes, common throughout the rest of the province, the park harbours an unusual mixture of vegetation which includes both humidity-loving ferns and cacti. The most notable of the cacti is the particularly vicious Opuntia puelchiana, a silvery, densely spiked cactus more commonly known as traicionera or traitor. Until the recent discovery of examples in Mexico and the United States, it was thought that the traicionera was unique to the park; however, Lihue Calel still retains its claim to an endemic species in the delicate yellow flower of the margarita pampeana. The star of Lihue Calel's varied fauna is undoubtedly the puma. Sadly, though, you've a very slim chance of actually seeing one of these shy and beautiful cats. Though park rangers claim to have enjoyed frequent sightings in the past, pumas appear to be in decline in the park and are only rarely seen these days. It seems likely that this is partly due to a shortage of their favourite meal, the vizcacha, a member of the chinchilla family: despite their size and ferocious claws pumas hunt fairly small prey. This is why, in the unlikely event of coming face to face with one, you are advised to make yourself as large as possible by standing with your arms raised. Slightly easier to see are grey foxes - who are occasionally to be found lurking around the campsite - and herds of guanaco, although picking out their well-camouflaged forms against the sierra requires a keen eye. Other species found in the park include nandues, armadillos and wild cats, whilst red deer and wild boar, unwelcome exotic migrants from Parque Luro, have also found their way into the park. You should also be aware that both the highly venomous and aggressive yarara and the similarly toxic, less aggressive coral snake are found in the park: accidental encounters with either of these reptiles can pretty much be avoided by not moving any stones or rocks and not venturing into undergrowth away from the paths. Spring is perhaps the best time to visit , when the park's predominantly yellow flowering bushes (such as the jarilla) are in bloom and the air is heavy with their scent. Summer is good for bird-watching - around one hundred and fifty species can be seen in the park, including various types of buzzards, falcons, hummingbirds, the exquisitely coloured blue and yellow tanager, the yellow cardinal and the rufus-bellied thrush. However, it can also be very dry and hot at this time of year; despite the moderating effect of the microclimate, temperatures can still push 40°C. Milder temperatures make the park more bearable again in autumn, but although Lihue Calel receives only a few centimetres of rain a year, there can be days during March and April when it feels like all those centimetres are falling at once.
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