Talampaya & Ischigualasto Natural Parks

Here are two very original and little visited sites: the parks of Ischigualasto and Talampaya. These two natural parks are an excellent introduction to the amazing polychromy of the Argentine Northwest. Not to be missed!

These two exceptional tourist sites were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO on December 11, 2000.

Ischigualasto National Park

The Moon Valley, on the border of the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja, is the most supernatural place in Argentina. The valley is a vast natural depression that wind and water have relentlessly eroded for millennia, sculpting strange formations in the sandstone with the most varied colors and contours. Ischigualasto is a name of Quechua origin that means: “Place where the moon rests”.

The beauty of the landscape is not the only attraction of the site, which is also of great interest from a geological and paleontological point of view. A long time ago, long before the formation of the Andes, a huge lake covered the region. At the beginning of the secondary era, its surroundings were full of rich flora and exceptional fauna.

Talampaya National Park

The Talampaya Canyon stretches about 80 km west of the La Rioja provincial road that connects Patquía and Villa Unión. While the Moon Valley has fascinated paleontologists, this other majestic site, dominated by rock walls over 145 m high, has rather attracted the interest of archaeologists. The Indian communities that populated it left countless cave paintings, as well as many symbols engraved in the rock. Also noteworthy are the many condor nests clinging to the cliffs.

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