Talampaya National Park

Information

It is a protected area located in the west of the province of La Rioja, some 57 kilometres from Villa Unión and 215 kilometres from the provincial capital.

The climate there is dry, with a wide daily temperature range, and very little rainfall, which occurs in summer (mainly in January and February) and can be very intense. Strong winds blow, one of them is the well known Zonda. The best time to visit it is from April to November, to avoid the summer rainfalls.

This park has geological material belonging to the Triassic (Mesozoic Era). It is an important palaeontological site, where fossils of fauna that inhabited the earth in those times have been found. On the other hand, petroglyphs and mortars from the original peoples that inhabited the place can also be seen.

The erosive action of water and wind over a very long period of time has given rise to cliffs and geological forms that can be seen today, with the additional peculiarity of the reddish colour of the terrain. Such is the case of what can be seen in the Talampaya River canyon. Many of the figures have been baptised with names such as the Cateral (Cathedral), the Fraile (Monk), the Rey Mago (Wizard King), the Tablero de Ajedrez (Chess Board), etc.

There are two ways to visit it:
a) Cañón del Talampaya (Talampaya Canyon): this is where most tourists go:
- To get there there is no public transport to the park, so you have to go by car or hire an excursion from the nearby locality of Villa Unión.
- There is an internal access road on National Route 76. Then it is 500 metres to its operational area, which has a car park, park ranger's office, restaurant, toilets and camping site. The trails and circuits to get to know this sector of the park start from there.
- Except for the Sendero del Triásico (the Triassic trail, which starts in front of the park ranger's office), which is self-guided, the others must be done with a guide. The main excursions are the Cañón del Talampaya (Talampaya Canyon) and Quebrada de Don Eduardo, among other variants that may include one or both circuits.
b) Ciudad Perdida: the access is also on road 76, where there is a park ranger's hut. From there, the tours to Cañón del Arco Iris and Ciudad Perdida depart, which in both cases must be done with an authorised guide.

Talampaya is right next to Ischigualasto Provincial Park, known as Valle de la Luna (which now belongs to San Juan Province). So a good option is to plan your trip with enough days to be able to visit both parks.