Ischigualasto & Talampaya

Ischigualasto, in San Juan, is the Valle de la Luna: a basin of grey, white and red clay eroded into shapes such as the Hongo, the mushroom, and the stone balls of the Cancha de Bochas. Its rocks hold some of the oldest dinosaur fossils known. Talampaya, next door in La Rioja, is a canyon of red walls a hundred and fifty metres high and petroglyphs at their foot; together they form a World Heritage Site. West of Villa Unión, the road climbs to Laguna Brava, a lake at more than four thousand metres with flamingos and old stone refuges.

One night for each park. San Agustín de Valle Fértil is the base for Ischigualasto, visited in your own car in convoy behind a ranger; Villa Unión is the base for Talampaya, where the park's own vehicles go into the canyon, and for a full day by 4x4 to Laguna Brava. The trip runs as a loop from Mendoza through San Juan, or north on the Ruta 40 over the Cuesta de Miranda towards Chilecito and the Northwest.

Laguna Brava is only reachable in the warmer months, roughly from November to April; the high road closes in winter.