One of the things I liked most about visiting Ischigualasto Park in San Juan province is the number of geoforms that could be found. These structures are surprising because they maintain these forms in the middle of the almost desert, rising imposingly and interrupting the spaces. I also liked that despite being made of clay, it was as fragile as it was resistant to the constant movements of the ground. But that's just a little of everything that can be found in this park, on a tour that takes you to learn about science as well as marvel at the landscape ❤️.
I have to thank all those who called this park "a must see" because that's exactly what it is. A visit to this park is one of the trips you have to do if you are on vacation in this province and luckily for everyone, getting there is quite easy on public transport that leaves from the bus station on Saturdays and Sundays. What is known is that it takes time to move more than 250 km from the capital of San Juan, but the effort is rewarded with this incredible place ❤️.
We took the walk inside Ischigualasto Park on an internal bus provided by the park and it took us about four hours to travel the more than 40 km of the sector designated for tourism. This place has more than 60 thousand hectares and is a protected area, although it has 5 specific sectors prepared to receive visitors. After passing through the Painted Valley and the Bocce Field, our third site of interest was located a little further ahead. It was a museum where we would see a little of the work that is done here ❤️.
This space called "Dr. William Sill Site Museum" has the objective of bringing the work of paleontologists closer to the tourists who visit the park daily. A large number of fossil remains of dinosaurs, plants and other animals have been discovered throughout the park, and this is what is demonstrated in the center of this small museum. There you can see what a tent installed after the discovery of some of these remains looks like. Even the fossil that is on display is a real one, that is why it is at a lower level than the walkway for guests but at the same time it is exposed for appreciation ❤️.
In addition to being useful to continue learning about the park's activities, making this stop in the middle of the walk was useful to buy something to eat and drink and also to use the restrooms. It should be noted that, as seen in the photos, the landscape and this climate are equally dry, so you must be careful of the heat and wind throughout the entire route .
Leaving the museum and continuing the way at that stop, we were able to find the fourth place of the afternoon. In this place another interesting geoform called "El Submarino" was located. Surrounded by cacti and more stones, this geoform at first seemed more like a small dinosaur to me. What do you think, what shape do you see in it ?
The walkway prepared for visitors invited them to continue entering the geoforms. Hopeful, I thought that perhaps from another angle I would notice the famous submarine that gives its name to this formation, but I still think I still didn't see it. What the guide said is that there used to be three towers but recently one fell: perhaps that's why my mind couldn't find a way to them. There was no point, I couldn't stop seeing some little big-headed dinosaurs .
Whatever shape those big rocks are, this place was totally cool. Nature was really creative when it created all this: these large clay towers were beautiful and caught the attention of adults and children alike. Of course we all asked about their fragility in the face of the constant earthquakes in this area, and the guide answered that they seem solid but in reality they are light so they (generally) withstand the movements of the earth and do not fall. Marvelous ❤️.
Something great that could be seen from that viewpoint was a large reddish wall that contrasted with all the yellowish landscape that we were seeing. That great wall that could be seen in the distance is the natural separation between the province of San Juan and the province of La Rioja. This province is one that I had not visited until now, so I was surprised that we were so close to it. And of course, it's already piqued my curiosity to see what's on the other side .
I feel that each stop we made during that afternoon was unique and each one gave us beautiful postcards. Even though we traveled four hours to get there (and then another four to get back), all the great scenery we saw made it an unforgettable trip. I also liked having seen this place with my own eyes, since in the photos one cannot take dimension of things, and this was definitely much bigger than I thought. And not to mention how beautiful it is, because that can be appreciated on any scale ❤️.
