Ischigualasto Provincial Park

Information

The Ischigualasto Provincial Park is also known as Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). It is a protected natural area located in the province of San Juan, on the border with La Rioja where it borders with the Talampaya National Park. The geological and paleontological resources of the place are preserved.

It has a service area with parking, stalls selling handicrafts, toilets, a place to eat and an information office. There is an interpretation centre with dinosaur replicas. From there you can go to visit the park.

Its main attraction is its geological forms, striking for their colours and appearance, which correspond to Triassic sediments (the oldest period of the Mesozoic Era). The shapes of these formations vary over time due to erosion by water and wind. The area is also rich in fossil resources, due to the fact that the first dinosaurs lived in this era.

To get to know the park there is its traditional circuit, which is a dirt road that is travelled by vehicle (you can do it with your own vehicle or hire one from a tourist agency). It is a 40-kilometre route where vehicles travel in caravans accompanied by a guide, and lasts about 3 or 4 hours. Along the way you will stop and see the main sites:
- Valle Pintado: there are some footbridges and a wooden viewpoint to appreciate a landscape that looks like a moon.
- Cancha de Bochas (Bocce Court): these are spherical rocks. They are what are called concretions, due to the accumulation of sediments around a nucleus.
- Geological forms that have been called El Gusano (The Worm), El Hongo (The Mushroom), El Submarino (The Submarine), La Esfinge (The Sphinx), etc.
- Dr. William Sill Site Museum, where the work of palaeontologists is on display.

There are two other circuits. One is a night walk under a full moon. The other is a 3-hour hike to the top of Cerro Morado (a hill), which at 1850 metres above sea level is the highest point in the park.

The best time to visit is from April to November. It is not advisable to go in summer (especially January and February) because there are days with very high temperatures, and also there are the few rains that occur during the year, which can complicate the walk through the park.

To get there, the access is on the asphalted National Route 150. A paved road opens up, and after 2.2 km you reach the operational area of the park.