We left the gas station where we stayed for the nicht in Bajo Caracoles north on a gravel road

After one hour we reached a canyon with a green river bed.

This french couple had a adorable dog, desperately waiting for his friends…

It was a short but difficult hike to the cave of the hands. The wind was incredible strong.

The valley is beautiful. The trees on the bottom where shook by the wind

Hands!

Nobody knows the real reason for this art. maybe it is just a “hello world, I was here”

There are other figures painted as well

The hands are in different colours, and most of them are left hands.

From the cave there are great views into the canyon.

Massive walls on both sides of the canyon.

A hunting scene. The structure of the rock might be the structure of the canyon. Maybe a instruction of the hunting technique?

Different figures. Painted some 10.000 years ago. Really impressive.

The walkway is nice, but the wind is very strong and makes walking difficult, especially with a broken leg.

That little friend was sitting on a rock and enjoyed the sun. It is a Viscacha.

More great views…

Back on the Ruta 40 we go south again, direction El Chalten to the next highlight….

Cueva de los manos; Bajo Caracoles; Argentina

I was here!

Maybe that is what the basic message of these hands is. And if so, the message has been delivered. Some 10.000 years later.

Nobody really knows the real reason for these paintings, but it is quite impressing to see those old drawings, knowing their age.

Getting here was quite a hazzle. The wind is incredibly strong and so Christy is fighting here way down some steep stairs and along a narrow path to get to the caves. I stayed behind her, holding her on her jacket in case the wind would blew her over. The drawings are not really in a cave it is more underneath huge overhangs. They are at the side of a canyon with a river, which enables trees and bushes to grow at the bottom of the canyon. The place is located in the middle of the desert.

Most drawings here are hands, but there are also Guanocos, abstract geometrical figures and other animals.

At one point there is a hunting scene, using the 3 dimensions of the rock to create a description of how they were hunting animals.

Knowing that somebody drew these things so long ago is stunning and magic.

The beauty of the canyon is making it even more enjoyable. We were glad we fought our way through the wind to this place…