2007 Roadtrip Parque Nacional Talampaya, Argentina

We drove to Parque Nacional Talampaya and were told that the driving circuit showing all of the unusually colorful and beautifully carved rocks was closed because of all of the recent rain. However, we could do a hike. The entrance fee and the hike cost AP $84 for the two of us/ US $27.45. It was a two and ½ hour hike at midday in 36°/96° dry heat. The vistas were so gorgeous that neither the heat nor scrambling up to the miradors/vista points was an issue.

Parque Nacional Talampaya

Dimitri says the rock formations look like Bryce Canyon National Park, his favorite.

Dimitri on our hike in Talampaya

After the hike, we took a siesta. Our little town was shut tight from about 1 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Evidently, it gets so hot that no one moves during the heat of the day. After our siesta, we used the hotel’s pool. It was quite pleasant and the pool was warm enough from the sun for us to use (momentarily).

That night it rained again and we were sure that Parque Provincial Ishigualasto, known as Valle de la Luna would be closed. So we decided to pack up everything and drive further north to La Rioja 276km away/171 miles. Because we would be passing by the Parque along the way, we could stop to find out what was going on. The turnoff to the Parque said it was 20 km/12 miles into the Parque. We decided not to go. So we missed the site designated one of World Heritage Site with petrographs from the civilizations more than 2500 years ago. And we missed seeing the dinosaur remains from 200 million years ago. The ochre rock formations in this park are supposed to be like Bryce Canyon or Zion in Utah and beautiful, but not as gorgeous as Talampaya.