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  Santiago Gaudio |
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 Next to Moon Valley in San Juan province, it was established as World Natural Heritage by the UNESCO in the year 2000. Talampaya is a park with a high degree of archaeology and paleontology richness where the visitor may imagine that life on earth started. To get to this barren region you must travel along provincial route Nº 26 between Valle Fértil in San Juan and Villa Unión in La Rioja, and after a 15 km. deviation, get to the information center of Talampaya National Park. |
 Local guides will give you information on different circuits. In the site there are sanitary facilities, buffet and a free camping site without any typical facilities but where it is advisable to spend the night if you wish to do several circuits in the canyon or do not want to go on driving after a long journey. In Talampaya National Park there is a canyon where time seems to have stopped, in a geography that goes back to the the times of dinosaurs and the red color of walls, and the earth reminds us of the era of fire. Petrogliphs here are an evidence of the first manifestations of man in the area. |
 As you travel you may see foxes wandering for food, because even though they are not domesticated animals, they are used to human presence and to get quite near to people. You may access in a 4x4 vehicle accompanied by a guide of the park, or hire the service to fully enjoy any of the circuits you choose to do. The shortest outings are about an hour and a half long, and others are whole day excursions. Canyon Door |
 Once you leave behind the information center, you get to the door of the Grand Canyon, where walls between 80 and 100 m. will surround you. The guide will indicate your transit through the bed of Talampaya river, which had a very abundant flow several centuries ago, and as a consequence an important biodiversity including tropical vegetation and big animals. Today we still find some species which have survived and adapted to this new wilderness. |
 In this region there are cuises, vizcachas, armadillos, pumas, ferrets, and also condors, crested caracaras, hawks, tinamous, greater rheas, and lesser rheas. As regards reptiles you can see lizards, alligators, and snakes. And during the rainy season there are many frogs and toads. The vegetation is typical of arid soil, and you can find carob trees, as well as several kinds of thorny shrubs which enrich the red soil of Talampaya, such as jarilla, chica, retamo, pichana, chañar, brea garabato, palo azul, mistol, tusca and espinillos. Attractions One of the first attractions you will find are visible human manifestations. |
 En una roca de forma horizontal nos encontraremos con una sucesión de morteros. Más adelante veremos petroglifos indígenas. En grabados sobre pizarras verticales se deslumbran gráficos representando animales, signos y figuras geométricas y humanas similares al del hombre pero con cabezas grandes o cascos, dando a pensar sobre la aparición de extraterrestres. |
 If you get deeper into the dry river you will pass by some big orange walls. You will see "The Chimney", a high vertical spout eroded and molded by the rain and the water falling from the top. Other figures on the canyon are the cliffs, the Wise Man and his camel, the Cathedral and the Towers, and near the end of the canyon, a solitary column called the Monk. |
 Other circuits you can do are "Los Cajones" and "Ciudad Perdida", both longer than "El Monje". The best seasons to visit this beautiful region of Argentina are fall or spring, so as to avoid extreme temperatures. |
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See also: Hotels and accommodation in La Rioja |
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