The
Aconcagua Provincial Park is a provincial park located
in the Andes Mountains, 180 kilometers west of the city
of Mendoza, Argentina. The tallest mountain in the Andes,
Aconcagua is located in the park, as well as glaciers,
important water resources, and sites of archaeological
interest.
The park was declared a protected area in 1983, and
is one of eleven provincial parks in the Mendoza province,
under the Provincial Law Number 4807. The Aconcagua
Provincial Park is located at 180 Km east of Mendoza
city, in the region of Las Heras, and only a few kilometers
east of the Chile border. The park covers about 71,000
hectares protecting an important sector of the central
Andes, with its main attraction of Aconcagua mountain,
with its 6,962 meters, assigned as the highest mountain
the South America. This park is distinguished because
of its glaciers, like reservoirs of sweet water, holding
archaeological remains inside and wonderful landscapes
the contraste of colors of nature.
The origin of the name Aconcagua derives from the Quechua
"Akun-ka-agua", which means "Sentinel
of Rock".
The Provincial Park of Mendoza is characterized by being
arid and rocky, with high peaks, permanently covered
in snow. The vegetation is scarce and covers the hills
until 4,000 meters, and shrubs such as yellow brushwood.
The animals in the region are also scarce and demonstrate
special adaptations to combat the dry conditions. One
of the most common birds is the majestic condor, also
called the King of the Andes.
This region gained historic value because General Don
Jose de San Martin crossed over it in 1818, to liberate
Chile from Spaniards, as part of his conquest for independence.
Later, on January 14, 1897, Matías Zurbriggen,
a member of the Fitzgerald expedition, reached the summit,
being the first person to do so. Since then, mountaineers
from all over the world come in the summer time to scale
the defiant walls and reach its peak.
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Aconcagua Provincial Park has had
a park ranger service since 1990 which controls the
protected area and helps the climbers who enter year
after year with the intention of realizing mountaineering
activities, recreation or trekking, they are present
in all the base camps and often in the ascent routes
Their number and training have been increasing in accordance
with the sustained increase in the quantity of visitors,
assuring that they receive better attention.
The Park Ranger Service
Checking admission permits (in Horcones and Punta de
Vacas) - Keeping the order - Checking cleanliness -
Controlling the camps - helping and informing climbers
- Controlling the service providers (in case of problems
or complaints report immediately) - Exercising power
of police inside the park - Coordinating evacuations
- Controlling waste collection (of individuals and service
providers) - These are some of the duties, among other.
The park administration is located in Horcones and from
there the work of the different camps is coordinated,
mainly those in which the park rangers are always present
such as Confluencia, Plaza de Mulas, Nido de Cóndores,
Punta de Vacas, Pampa de Leñas and Plaza Argentina.
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Aconcagua Mountain)
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