Pampa de Achala is a region that lies at the heart of the Sierras de Córdoba located within Sierras Pampeanas, and located in central-northwest of Argentina. It is a rugged area with little vegetation, lying over above sea level, and which has distinctive species, ecology, relief and hydrography. The region is a regional water reserve, and the source of the vast majority of streams that run through the Córdoba Province. Quebrada del Condorito National Park is in the region.
Origin of the name
The name for the area comes from the Quechua language, and apparently refers to the original inhabitants of the region, the comechingones.
There is no concrete data concerning the origin of the name, merely hypotheses. According to the dictionary of the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, achala means 'fancy dress' or 'striking costume'. Many Quechan terms contain the word achala. A similar word is achalay, meaning 'grooming' or 'decorating'. According to the dictionary of Dr. González de Holguín, the word achala does not exist in that context, but one finds the similar words achallay and achallay ñichini, which mean both 'to cause something' and 'self-admiration'.
The word could have originated from a distortion of the original term, which was later converted into a word more agreeable to the Spanish of the area, and could refer either to the clothing historically worn by inhabitants of the region, allowing them to withstand the severity of the weather, or to the admiration the inhabitants had for this special region.
Geography
Pampa de Achala is located in Córdoba Province in Argentina. The northern boundary consists of the mountains of Los Gigantes, and the southern boundary of the northern portion of the Sierra de Comechingones, with the Summits of Achala located in the central area of the region. It is a rugged area, whose small plains and low slopes are responsible for its classification as 'plains'. These slopes and plains allowed for the formation of an intricate underground water network that supplies a great number of springs. Within this region, there are numerous deep ravines with vertical walls between 600 m and 800 m high, many of which are more than 1,000 m wide. The most important and popular ravines are the Quebrada del Condorito and the Quebrada de Yatán.
These streams have nurtured microclimates that allow for the development of ecological niches, with many endemic species (species that do not live anywhere else on the planet), worthy of study and observation. In general access to them is difficult due to the rugged terrain, often inaccessible to any vehicle (including those with all-wheel drive) and thus can only be reached on foot, by mule or on horseback.
The region covers southern Cruz del Eje Department, the south west of Punilla Department, San Alberto Department and San Javier Department and the west of Calamuchita Department.
It is difficult to differentiate the Pampa de Achala provincial water reserve from the Pampa de Achala itself. The water reserve was purposely created to protect the Pampa. Its boundaries are set by geographical features: the northern boundary reaches the provincial route RP 28 (formerly the National Road RN 20), which surrounds the massif of Los Gigantes. The southern boundary is Mount Champaquí, high. Its eastern and western limits are set by the high altitude of . The highest peaks of the province are in this region.
Its size is about from north to south and from east to west, which represents an area of approximately 150,000 hectares, of which 40,000 are the Quebrada del Condorito National Park.