TALAMPAYA CANYON

The first stop of the Talampaya Canyon tour takes you directly to the foot of the huge canyon wall. A short guided walk will show you some petroglyphs, the heritage of the ancestors of the natives who lived here. There are many petroglyphs in the area, but you will be shown only the most accessible ones.

A little further on, we discover mortars. These are holes, with perfect finishes, carved in stones. Several theories circulate as to their origin. One tells that the natives used an acidic substance, contained in the stomachs of the guanacos they hunted. They would spread this substance on the stone to make a perfect hole. Others will tell you that this is quite impossible, since this type of stone is rustproof.

The second stop is incongruous: a "botanical garden" with a few representatives of the trees of the region... in the middle of a semi-desert area, the Eden has something surprising about it. After crossing it, we reach an incredible formation carved into the wall, the Chimenea del Eco, a kind of chimney created by erosion. Once inside, it is de rigueur to test the echo. And it works! The top of the wall is the condors' favourite flight path.

The third stop is after the narrowest gorge of the canyon, in front of the aptly named "catedral", which rises to the heavens. Then we continue on a road with a clear and panoramic view of the different rock formations that have been given names.