Chasing Dinosaurs & Dakar: Visit Valle de la Luna and Talampaya in Argentina

November 10, 2024

The Cuyo is Argentina’s largest wine region, comprising Mendoza and three other provinces. In addition to excellent wines, you can find spectacular scenery on this side of the country. Travel to the Age of the Dinosaurs in Valle de la Luna and Talampaya National Park, two stunning natural parks that are located off-the-beaten-path in Argentina’s Cuyo.

Talampaya National Park, La Rioja

The perfect base town for exploring both parks is Villa Union in La Rioja. Ischigualasto and Talampaya National Park are only separated by the San Juan-La Rioja provincial border, yet the scenery differs greatly. Although both parks can be visited in one day, we spread them out over two. With temperatures rising above 40°C, spending the afternoon by the pool is a must. We headed to Talampaya first thing in the morning. At the entrance, you are welcomed onto the Sendero del Triasico or Triassic Track.

The only way to visit Talampaya is on a guided tour, which won’t leave until the minimum group size is attained. You can wait (and sweat) it out on the terrace with an ice-cold Quilmes. We opted for the panoramic 4×4 truck to take us through the park. In the middle of a dried-up river bed, the truck stops to serve wine and snacks.

Talampaya’s scenery is stunning, as millions of years of erosion have turned the red rocks into works of art. This dry land used to be a fertile area, dominated by dinosaurs. There were also 1500 year-old petroglyphs found in the park.

Valle de la Luna, San Juan

Seventy kilometers south of Talampaya lies Ischigualasto Provincial Park, known as Valle de la Luna or Valley of the Moon. When we visited, people were preparing for the first rain in over a year. Times have changed, as this valley was a giant lake in the Triassic Period, populated by a variety of fauna and flora. Nowadays, the dried-up valley is a paleontological treasure. The small museum at the entrance displays replicas of the fossils that were found in the park.

Just like Talampaya, Valle de la Luna can only be visited on a guided tour. Here you take the tour in your own vehicle, lined up in a convoy with the park ranger up front. The Valle Pintado or Painted Valley gave the park its nickname Valle de la Luna. Each colored sediment layer stands for a different time period, forming an impressive lunar landscape altogether.

The Cancha de Bochas or Bowling Field adds to otherworldly scenery. Molecular attraction caused different particles of sediment to group together, creating these peculiar round spheres.

The next stops are spectacular sculptures, created over millions of years. Because some layers are stronger than others, distinct rock formations are shaped. The submarine is one of the signature images of Valle de la Luna. It lost one of its periscopes just months after our visit, showing that these landscapes keep evolving like they have for millions of years.

After the last sculpture, the convoy returns to the entrance with impressive red cliffs towering above the road. The famous Dakar Rally had just passed through San Juan a day before our visit to Valle de la Luna. In the ten years that the race was held in South America, the rough terrains of Argentina’s Cuyo often featured on the itinerary.

La Difunta Correa, San Juan

If you continue to Mendoza, you will pass by a curious place of worship. La Difunta Correa is a sanctuary for many Argentinian truck drivers, created for the deceased Correa. Legend goes that she died from thirst and exhaustion in the San Juan desert, but miraculously managed to keep her newborn alive through breastfeeding. Drivers leave empty water bottles and license plates in her honor at this shrine.