Your Travel Experience with Galapagos PRO
Route 40 & Cueva de las Manos
This legendary journey through Patagonia begins on the tarmac sections of the legendary National Route 40 from Perito Moreno or Los Antiguos, where the endless steppe stretches out beneath a vast sky and herds of guanacos and choiques roam freely, before the route turns onto Provincial Road 97 to cover some 30 kilometres of unpaved track, immersing travellers in a wild and authentic adventure. Suddenly, the plain drops off abruptly, revealing the imposing gorge of the Río Pinturas – a colossal chasm of reddish and yellow rock faces – where you can choose either a moderate-difficulty hike that crosses the gorge or walkways leading directly to the millennia-old ‘Cueva de las Manos’. There, sheltered beneath the overhanging cliffs, you can see the world-famous handprints and dynamic hunting scenes, painted more than 9,000 years ago using mineral pigments – a priceless treasure designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which mystically links the wild nature of the south with the origins of humanity.