This region, also known as “Cuyo” - “desert country” in the Indian language - is the region of the high peaks, the snow-covered volcanoes, and the large wilderness spreading from the Andes mountain range and foothills to the steppe. .

The visit to Ischigualasto - Talampaya Natural Parks, is a true journey to the dinosaurs era. Ischigualasto, also known as “Valle de la Luna” (Moon Valley) because of the amazing diversity of forms and colours of its landscape shaped by erosion, is one of the world’s most important paleonthologic sites. The Talampaya River Canyon reveals amazing multi-shaped layers in its high red walls.

The Aconcagua (6.959 m) is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, and its steep slopes are respected by mountain climbers from all over the world. In the valleys of Mendoza and San Juan, among leaves of grapevines, farms and wineries, visitors can go along the Wine Road, a certainly unforgettable experience.

Province of Mendoza

Area: 148.827 Km²
Population: 1.573.671 inhabitants
Density: 10,6 inhabitants per Km²
Capital: Mendoza

Distances:
Mendoza from Buenos Aires : 1,037 Km

PLACES TO VISIT:

TALAMPAYA NATIONAL PARK. This canyon is one of the most spectacular natural wonders of Argentina. In some areas, the canyon is only 80m wide and has vertical walls nearly 150m high. Condors look down from the heights; these enormous birds, ever watchful of visitors, fly down from their refuge and hover in the air. There are many strange rock formations in Talampaya like The Chessboard, The Balconies, The Friars or The Three Kings.

MENDOZA, the capital : This is a pleasant city with clean, tree-lined streets and 500 Km of irrigation channels. An active cultural life revolves around its universities, theatres, museums and art galleries.

ACONCAGUA, "THE STONE SENTINEL". This is the highest peak in the whole Western hemisphere rising to 6,959 metres.. Further north you come across the statue of the Christ the Redeemer, which marks the pass along the tunnel that leads into Chile.

Other attractions in the area are San Rafael and the Atuel Canyon, Malargue, as well as Villavicencio with its natural spring water fountains in the province of Mendoza.

ISCHIGUALASTO or THE MOON VALLEY: 78 Km from the village of San Agustín del Valle Fértil, a vast plateau showing the process of wind erosion is given the name of The Moon Valley, due to the strange shapes that the stone has adopted, rich in fossils of plants and dinosaurs that lived in the area 200 million years ago.

Highlight of the Region :

Ischigualasto - Talampaya Natural Parks
Ischigualasto Provincial Park, in the Province of San Juan, is one of the most important paleontologic sites in the world. It covers a 25 Km long by 10 Km wide area. Fossil remains of vertebrates that inhabited the place in the Mesozoic era 180 million years ago, as well as dinosaur footprints, fern leaf prints, and petrified araucarias trunks can be found in this amazing park. The landscape displays an extraordinary diversity of shapes and colours.
Talampaya National Park major attraction are its brick-red rock steep cliffs with thousands of distinctive shapes carved by erosion, where condors nest. The most popular area is a 3-Km-wide canyon with all kinds of sandstone formations and 150-meter-tall walls. This place is rich in precious archaeological remains such as stone mortars and pre-Columbian petroglyphs.
Ischigualasto and Talampaya, which share a geological basin of approximately 5,000 sq. Km, were inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in December, 2000.