PARQUE NACIONAL EL PALMAR

Midway between the cities of Colón and Concordia, 8,500-hectare Parque Nacional El Palmar offers a backward glimpse of what Entre Ríos and adjacent areas of Uruguay and Brazil looked like before farming, forestry, and cattle altered the ecology of the native yatay-palm savannas in the 19th century. Although Syagrus yatay remains in substantial numbers here and its reproduction has improved since the national park’s establishment in 1966, its population structure is uneven—some individuals are more than 200 years old, but “middle-aged” trees are few.

Ironically, unnatural clusters of older specimens give real character to the park’s surviving savannas, but they are not its only attraction. Along with the gallery forests along the Río Uruguay and its tributary creeks, they provide ample habitat for mammals, birds, and other wildlife.

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Orientation
El Palmar is an 8,500-hectare unit 360 kilometers north of Buenos Aires and 50 kilometers north of Colón via RN 14; it is 50 kilometers south of Concordia via the same highway. Except for a small information center at the highway turnoff, however, all services are 11 kilometers to the east.

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Flora and Fauna
The park, of course, takes its name from the yatay, which grows up to 18 meters in height with a diameter of 40 centimeters. Its most conspicuous mammals are the innocuous, semiaquatic carpincho (capybara, Hydrochaerus hydrochaeris, the world’s largest rodent, weighing up to 60 kg), and the chinchilla relative vizcacha Lagostomus maximus, abundant here until only recently, but now much reduced in numbers. Wild boar (a European introduction responsible for habitat damage), foxes, and raccoons are also common.

The ostrichlike ñandú or rhea (Rhea Americana) races across the savannas, but the wetlands and gallery forests are also home to cormorants, egrets, herons, storks, caracaras, kingfishers, parakeets, and woodpeckers. The most conspicuous reptiles are the large but harmless nocturnal toads that invade the campground showers and toilets; the highly venomous yarará (Bothrops alternata), a pit viper that reaches upward of two meters, deserves respect in its savanna habitat, though bites are rare.

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Sights and Activities
Near the Los Loros campground, the beaches along the Río Uruguay are the big draw for swimmers and boaters, but hikers and cyclists can enjoy Paseo Arroyo los Loros, a better wildlife-watching area northwest of the campground (rental canoes and bicycles are available at the campground store).

Five kilometers southwest of Los Loros, a gravel road leads across the savanna to Arroyo El Palmar, a Río Uruguay tributary that’s also one of the best areas to see the yatay palms that give the park its name. There’s also a fine swimming hole here.

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Information
At the park entrance, immediately east of RN 14, there’s a small information booth where rangers collect an admission charge (US$1 for residents of Entre Ríos, US$2 for residents of other Argentina provinces, and US$4.50 for foreign residents).

Across from the Los Loros campground, the Administración de Parques Nacionales operates a Centro de Interpretación (tel. 03447/493053, pnpalmar@ciudad.com.ar, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. daily). In addition to permanent natural history displays, it offers videos on park attractions and ecology.

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Getting There and Around
RN 14 goes directly past the park entrance, so any north- or southbound bus between Colón and Concordia will drop passengers there, and even long-distance buses may do so. There is, however, no public transport over the 11 kilometers from the park entrance to the visitors center and camping area. Hitching is feasible, as are remises from Colón or Concordia.