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| Cardon Cactus Sanctuary near San Jose de Guaymas, Sonora |
As part of the tour itinerary offered by the owners of Rancho Pitahaya, the organic Dragon Fruit farm near San Jose de Guaymas, guests are led in a convoy of vehicles to a Cardon Cactus Sanctuary to walk amongst these giants and stand in awe.
Pachycereud pringlei or Cardon cactus, is native to the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur. "Cardo" in Spanish refers to "thistle". With reference to Wikipedia, we learned the Cardon is the tallest cactus species in the world. It displays a large diameter trunk from which branches grow upward, but very slowly. We were advised that the cacti we were viewing were hundreds of years of age in many cases.
Although referred to as a 'sanctuary', there are no fences nor means of protecting the plants; there were ATV and other vehicle tracks throughout our trek. Our guide Greg took great pains to ensure we did not touch nor in any way disturb the site and we parked together and walked our way through the forest. The afternoon was very overcast and grey which is reflected in the following photos. The mood of the visitors was exited and impressed! Join the tour!
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| Tour guide Greg in distance leading the way |
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| Cardon Cactus sentinel |
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For a bit of scale - the Captain is 6'3"
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| Skeleton of an ancient Cardon |
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| Nesting holes for desert birds |
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Close ups of lower trunk
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| Ocotilla flowers in bloom in Cardon Cactus Sanctuary |
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