The province of La Pampa offers a variety of ecotourism activities such as hiking 4×4, tracking, photo safaris, camping and wildlife sightings. Moreover, its skies provide unique opportunities for sports flying. Now these places show them step by step through the lands of La Pampa gaucho.

City of Santa Rosa: Heaven to fly

The City of Santa Rosa, elevated about 177 feet above sea level, is in the midst of wild and broken fields, forests covered by broth.

The climate is dry and strong temperature fluctuations make it very favorable for the practice of gliding and paragliding, allowing up to 4,000 meters roof provides excellent thermal properties. This sport can be practiced about 30 kms from the city of Santa Rosa, on flights departing from private fields or from Club Glider. From here you can also enjoy the panoramic views and peaceful observe native wildlife from the air thanks to the glider and ultralight flights.

You can also use the Maulén Paragliding School Pampa and Fly. Both are located in the town of Toay, just 10 kms. Santa Rosa.

Horseback riding:

The parade is one of the activities of active tourism features of the province around the capital city can be practiced in several institutions, assisted by experts. The horseback journey among the mountains of calden up to the Laguna del Bajo Giuliani. One possibility is the Riding School La Cuesta. It is only 11 miles from Santa Rosa, National Route No. 35 south. Their horses and ponies are trained for jumping, dressage and horse riding. You can also take riding lessons with instructors, equine therapy sessions, and conduct intensive courses. The rides are offered in different formats: one hour, half day, one or two days. You can camp.

Jacinto Arauz: Paradise for 4×4:

Jacinto Arauz is a geography that seems to have been designed to traverse in 4×4 vehicles, especially in the areas of lagoons, salt marshes, salt flats, huge sand dunes, swamps, mountains caldén, winding paths and downs, challenges to the skill of those who own localities and Guatraché Callaqueo.

Termas de Guatraché:

Just 10 kms from the town of Guatraché 181, Santa Rosa and is the Municipal Beach Park and Samuel Novick, owner of thermal pools (a pool of 15 by 30 meters for 3 adults and one juvenile for 6 meters), whose water comes from Lake Guatraché and possess healing properties. They are considered especially suitable for relief tiles arthrosis, arthritis, back pain, citalgias, mositosis, tenosynovitis, acne, muscle spasms, eczema and varicose ulcers.

Lihue Calel National Park:

Lihue Calel National Park is another of the treasures that blanket the province of La Pampa. It was created in order to protect the mountain system of the same name and its historical, cultural and natural, high uniqueness. It is located in south central province in the Department of Lihue Calel.

Cavalcade:

Its characteristic vegetation jarillas shrublands with isolated groves of Mount chañar shapes, which also include the piquillin, kills and incense and shrieking molle. Some areas wetter allow the appearance of small calden shady forests of bull. Other species that inhabit the park are the ferns, carnations air, epiphytic on rocks, and various as the cardon cactus, branches thick with their ends upward crawl, prickly thorns and treacherous high adhesion.

Wildlife:

A variety of wildlife inhabits the park, consisting among others of vizcachas, tuco-tuco, cavies and armadillos as piche. There are guanacos and maras. Among carnivores highlights the puma, also here one of the few shelters in the pursuit of which is the subject outside the Park. In ancient vizcacheras can find the red lizard, crested flycatchers sighting partridge cliques across the place, and some foxes and ferrets. In the nearby bushes scampers to stop the cock tail copetón, bristling pompadour bird plumage brown tones, and in the woods is not uncommon to see the gray hawk and the yellow cardinals, the latter a species very captured in Argentina for cage Lihue Calel which takes one of his few shelters. At the time of fruit ripening of the broth, come to the area more often flocks of Burrowing Parrots in search of seeds from these trees.
Getting There

By National Route No. 152 (240 km from Santa Rosa). The nearest town is Puelches, approximately 30 km of the protected area. To Consider: In the administrative area of the park is a campsite with toilets.

What to do?

Among the rides that may be performed include interpretive walks with a ranger guide, commonly known transiting the Namuncurá Valley (designation corresponding to the wide valley that shelters the Quartermaster) or the Valle de Los Angelitos.

You can climb into the mountains with little difficulty in certain areas of the park, such as the Cerro de la Sociedad Científica Argentina (589 m), the highest of the park.

Two trails with interpretive signage to understand different aspects of the area:

• Path The Huitru: starts at the camp and the beginning of the path of ascent to the Hill of the Scientific Society. Shows the characteristics of the forest, its plants and animals.

• Path «Valle de las Pinturas» allows to know the use made by the natives to the area, eventually reaching an eave with paintings.

Also you can visit the old town of Estancia Santa Maria, who belonged to the family of Luis Garcia until 1964, when the province of La Pampa to expropriate exploitative tourist and then donate it to the National Parks Administration.

Luro Park Nature Reserve:

A little over 35 kms south of Santa Rosa, Pedro Olegario Luro Reserve, 7,500 hectares, is dedicated to the conservation of red deer, European wild boar and puma.

From the road you can see the majestic villa known as «The Castle» French style, located two miles from the entrance portal. It is a provincial museum, owner of a mini-zoo, exhibition of old carriages, an interpretive center flora and fauna, a viewpoint ( «The Hermitage») and a monumental ancient water tank.

Flora and fauna:

Luro Park is the largest nature reserve broth in the world. With its forests, dunes and lagoons, is a typical landscape of the Pampa.

Here live some 160 species of birds, of which, depending on time of year when the sighting is made, you can recognize approximately forty. The practice of watching requires the presence of a field guide that is responsible for conducting, reporting and select the most appropriate places and times for observation.

Thus we arrive at the end of this virtual tour of the Argentine Pampas.