Mount Lico, a mountain in Northern Mozambique, Africa, stands at approximately 1,100 meters with up to 700 meters of sheer rock walls, making it difficult for humans to climb; who aspires to climb a 1,100 meter mountain anyway, when you can climb higher mountains at more relative ease?
Mount Lico supports an old-growth rainforest atop its peak:
It’s not exactly untouched: in 2018 a team of researchers and expert mountaineers visited the forest (detected for scientific reasons by Google Earth) for exploration*. They encountered small animals that may or not be known to science thus far (including a new species of butterfly). Curiously, they also noticed mysterious clay pots placed near a mountaintop stream that they assume were left there for ceremonial reasons. The most conclusive perception of the forest, given all news reports, is that the forest has been largely untouched, un-accessed and thankfully undisturbed for a very long time.
Cerro El Cono, a striking and mysterious mountain, rises from the depths of the Amazon rainforest. It is part of the Sierra del Divisor, also known as “The Watershed Mountains,” a region celebrated for its unique biodiversity and the presence of several uncontacted Indigenous tribes.
This pyramid-like formation is more than just a natural wonder; it is a symbol of spiritual significance. Local Indigenous people see it as an Andean Apu, a guardian spirit of the mountains. These Apus, rooted in the mythology of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, are thought to protect the local inhabitants and date back to the Inca Empire.
Found near the city of Pucallpa in eastern Peru, Cerro El Cono is adjacent to the Ucayali River, a key tributary of the Amazon River.
What’s so special about the Sierra del Divisor? It’s the “only mountainous region” anywhere in the lowland rainforest, according to Peruvian NGO Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC), while The Field Museum, in the US, describes it as “a mountain range” rising up “dramatically from the lowlands of central Amazonian Peru” and boasting “rare and diverse geological formations that occur nowhere else in Amazonia.” Its most iconic topographical feature is “El Cono”, an extraordinary peak visible from the Andes on a clear day.
Peru installing new national park for unique Amazon mountain range
‘El Cono” in the Sierra del Divisor region in Peru’s Amazon rainforest.
The Sierra del Divisor It’s the only mountainous region anywhere in the lowland rainforest, according to Peruvian NGO Instituto del Bien Comun, while The Field Museum, in the US, describes it as “a mountain range” rising up “dramatically from the lowlands of central Amazonian Peru” and boasting “rare and diverse geological formations that occur nowhere else in the Amazonia.” Its most iconic topographical feature is “El Cono”, an extraordinary peak visible from the Andes on a clear day that geologists consider to be an “extinct volcanic cone,” Ross Birchall
I never heard of it but it is a cool feature. It is Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit moved south.
I always loved the Lost Worlds genre. It is nice to see a couple examples still exist.
updated Aug 26, 2024