Los Altares Valley

A splendid ravine with reminiscences from the Jurassic Period. An impossing site, with strange rock formations that resemble giant natural altars.

To get to this imposing place you must drive 281 km. along national route 25 over the margin of the Chubut river. You will cross some of the villages inhabitted by the first Welsh colonists: Trelew, Gaiman, Dolavon, Valle de los Mártires, where life was really hard at the times of the first colonists. In this sector there are almost no cities, and you will drive along long straight roads and defying curves surrounded by mountains, beautiful water mirrors and endless plateaus.

After a considerable time you will get to Valle Los Altares, a strange rock formation resembling giant altars. The sandy rocks form multiple red layers divided by corrosion and water and wind erosion, which form a kind of natural totem standing upon the sky. You will be filled with awe at the high cliffs with shapes resembling different things.Near there you will find some rock paintings protected by Dirección Provincial de Cultura. You will appreciate an aboriginal painting from the X century composed by mineral pigments amalgamated with organic stuff. In the village there is a gas station, a restaurant and a bar where you can enjoy an exquisite home-made ham and cheese sandwich with home-made bread baked by local women. If you are fond of souvenirs, we recommend you acquire a stone arrow head carved by local artisans who are descendents of Tehuelche aborigines. After this experience you will have learned that in Patagonia it is not necessary to search in hidden places to find beauty, because it shows itself all along the way.