In 2003 somewhere deep in the Chicamocha Canyon in Colombia, researchers discovered a new tree species that is only found there: the Colombian baobab, or Cavanillesia chicamochae. At the time of its discovery, only 500 very old specimens of this special tree remained in the wild. This unique endemic tree, which is also called a ‘pot-bellied ceiba’ due to a thickening in the trunk, could no longer reproduce because goats were eating all the young plants. Because old trees have problems reproducing, a reforestation project was started and thanks to the many efforts there are currently about 2000 trees.

Photographer Frederik Buyckx traveled deep into the hot Chicamocha Canyon and with the help of some Colombian farmers and shepherds he found some steep mountain slopes inhabited by these remarkable trees.