Destination content © Wayne Bernhardson, used from Moon Handbooks Argentina, 1st Edition.
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PARQUE NACIONAL TALAMPAYA
On the waterless western slopes of the Sierra de Sañogasta, the colorful canyon country of Parque Nacional Talampaya is a jumble of wildly eroded landscapes that draws more overseas visitors than any other part of La Rioja. Many combine it with a trip to neighboring San Juan Province’s Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, colloquially known as the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon).
Talampaya takes its name from a Quechua term, with sacred allusions, meaning “Dry Riverbed of the Tala,” a place where the tala tree once grew. While the riverbed may be dry, running water has played the key role in creating its steep-walled sandstone canyons and distinctive silhouette landforms from an enormous lakebed that covered the Talampaya basin during Permian and Triassic times.
One of ex-President Carlos Menem’s least controversial decisions in office was to grant this deserving area, which along with San Juan Parque Provincial Ischigualasto is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its national park status in 1997 (prior to then, it was a provincial park). In addition to its natural attractions, it boasts archaeological and rock-art sites (both figurative and abstract) that date from around a.d. 100–1200.
From a junction 15 kilometers south of Chilecito, westbound RN 40 becomes a gravel road as it climbs the hairpin turns of the scenic Río Miranda gorge to the 2,020-meter Cuesta de Miranda, before descending to La Unión or alternatively, via RP 18, to the village of Pagancillo. From Pagancillo, RN 76 leads south to Parque Nacional Talampaya, for a total distance of about 140 kilometers.
Sprawling over 215,000 hectares of desert, the park is 217 kilometers from La Rioja on a roundabout route via southbound RN 38, westbound RN 150, and northbound RN 76. Midway between La Unión and Los Baldecitos, a paved 14-kilometer road leads east to Puerta de Talampaya, the staging point for park visits.
Flora and Fauna
Talampaya’s sparse vegetation consists largely of shrubs, including the nearly leafless retamo (Diostea juncea) and the resinous jarrilla (Larrea tridentate), as well as cacti including the cardón. In some areas, subterranean water supports larger trees like the algarrobo and pepper (Schinus molle).
The most conspicuous mammal is the common grey fox, but the chinchillón, or vizcacha (Lagidium vizcacia), is also present. Armadillos are also seen. Birds include scavengers like the Andean condor and turkey vulture, and raptors including the peregrine falcon.
Talampaya’s most distinctive fauna, such as the dinosaur Lagosuchus talampayensis and the turtle Palaeocheris talampayensis, have been extinct since the early Triassic, some 250 million years ago.
Sights and Activities
Park access is by guided tour only, which may be on foot or bicycle, or by 4WD vehicle. Visitors using their own 4WD must still hire a licensed guide. The park is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. in the winter months, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. in the summer months, but the relatively cool mornings are better than the hot afternoons. All tours start at the Puerta de Talampaya (Gate of Talampaya) entrance to the canyon.
For hikers, there is the three-hour Sendero Jardín Botánico, which also visits rock-art and mortar sites, for US$3 pp; the slightly longer Sendero Quebrada Don Eduardo (US$4 pp) covers much of the same ground but visits some additional areas. The same circuits can be done faster, and slightly more expensively, on rental bicycles.
Visitors with vehicles, or those hiring vehicles on site, have access to more remote parts of the park. They see some of the same sites as foot and bicycle visitors, but during a two- to-three-hour excursions they also spend time at the Chimenea del Eco, a natural echo chamber also known as La Catedral because of it towering vertical recesses. Condors are a common sight at El Cañón de los Farallones (Canyon of Cliffs). The five-hour excursion to the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City, so called because its landforms resemble ruined buildings) includes a 2.5-hour hike.
Note that guides’ vehicles carry up to eight persons, who may divide the cost among them. Two-hour tours cost US$20, four-hour excursions US$40–50 depending on the itinerary. For visitors with their own vehicles, guides charge US$10 for the shorter tours, US$20–25 for the longer ones.
PARQUE NACIONAL TALAMPAYA
On the waterless western slopes of the Sierra de Sañogasta, the colorful canyon country of Parque Nacional Talampaya is a jumble of wildly eroded landscapes that draws more overseas visitors than any other part of La Rioja. Many combine it with a trip to neighboring San Juan Province’s Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, colloquially known as the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon).
Talampaya takes its name from a Quechua term, with sacred allusions, meaning “Dry Riverbed of the Tala,” a place where the tala tree once grew. While the riverbed may be dry, running water has played the key role in creating its steep-walled sandstone canyons and distinctive silhouette landforms from an enormous lakebed that covered the Talampaya basin during Permian and Triassic times.
One of ex-President Carlos Menem’s least controversial decisions in office was to grant this deserving area, which along with San Juan Parque Provincial Ischigualasto is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its national park status in 1997 (prior to then, it was a provincial park). In addition to its natural attractions, it boasts archaeological and rock-art sites (both figurative and abstract) that date from around a.d. 100–1200.
From a junction 15 kilometers south of Chilecito, westbound RN 40 becomes a gravel road as it climbs the hairpin turns of the scenic Río Miranda gorge to the 2,020-meter Cuesta de Miranda, before descending to La Unión or alternatively, via RP 18, to the village of Pagancillo. From Pagancillo, RN 76 leads south to Parque Nacional Talampaya, for a total distance of about 140 kilometers.
Sprawling over 215,000 hectares of desert, the park is 217 kilometers from La Rioja on a roundabout route via southbound RN 38, westbound RN 150, and northbound RN 76. Midway between La Unión and Los Baldecitos, a paved 14-kilometer road leads east to Puerta de Talampaya, the staging point for park visits.
Flora and Fauna
Talampaya’s sparse vegetation consists largely of shrubs, including the nearly leafless retamo (Diostea juncea) and the resinous jarrilla (Larrea tridentate), as well as cacti including the cardón. In some areas, subterranean water supports larger trees like the algarrobo and pepper (Schinus molle).
The most conspicuous mammal is the common grey fox, but the chinchillón, or vizcacha (Lagidium vizcacia), is also present. Armadillos are also seen. Birds include scavengers like the Andean condor and turkey vulture, and raptors including the peregrine falcon.
Talampaya’s most distinctive fauna, such as the dinosaur Lagosuchus talampayensis and the turtle Palaeocheris talampayensis, have been extinct since the early Triassic, some 250 million years ago.
Sights and Activities
Park access is by guided tour only, which may be on foot or bicycle, or by 4WD vehicle. Visitors using their own 4WD must still hire a licensed guide. The park is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. in the winter months, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. in the summer months, but the relatively cool mornings are better than the hot afternoons. All tours start at the Puerta de Talampaya (Gate of Talampaya) entrance to the canyon.
For hikers, there is the three-hour Sendero Jardín Botánico, which also visits rock-art and mortar sites, for US$3 pp; the slightly longer Sendero Quebrada Don Eduardo (US$4 pp) covers much of the same ground but visits some additional areas. The same circuits can be done faster, and slightly more expensively, on rental bicycles.
Visitors with vehicles, or those hiring vehicles on site, have access to more remote parts of the park. They see some of the same sites as foot and bicycle visitors, but during a two- to-three-hour excursions they also spend time at the Chimenea del Eco, a natural echo chamber also known as La Catedral because of it towering vertical recesses. Condors are a common sight at El Cañón de los Farallones (Canyon of Cliffs). The five-hour excursion to the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City, so called because its landforms resemble ruined buildings) includes a 2.5-hour hike.
Note that guides’ vehicles carry up to eight persons, who may divide the cost among them. Two-hour tours cost US$20, four-hour excursions US$40–50 depending on the itinerary. For visitors with their own vehicles, guides charge US$10 for the shorter tours, US$20–25 for the longer ones.
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