Created in 1975, with a surface of 215,000 hectares, the National Park Talampaya has its attractive in his farallones and variety of fantastic forms of the CAÑON DE TALAMPAYA (TALAMPAYA CANYON), produced by the erosion of the river with the same name. This course of the Talampaya river, which is empty today, explains its name that in quechua means "Dry Bed of Tala".

This one was originated by a great push (Mountain range of the Andes- Cordillera de los Andes) a 5 million years ago. The Talampaya river took advantage of a fracture and cut the block. Then, little by little the canyon it was forming, till arrive to the present state. The Sierra de los Tarjados, of 1,500 to 2,000 meters of height, is the natural scene on which the erosion has carved the magnificent desert canyon.
Indeed a part of the park is geologic continuation of the region of Ischigualasto. The Provincial Park Ischigualasto and the National Park Talampaya constitute two different parks, but they, really, perform an immense geologic region of more than 250,000 hectares (that can be visited from anyone of the two provinces) that allows to reconstruct a little well-known period of terrestrial geologic history: the Triasic Period, where was given rise to him to the dominion of the dinosaurus. The Dinodontosaurio, an insectivore of 2 meters in length, populated Talampaya during the Triasic Period (more than 200 million years ago). The dinosaurus descend from him.

Because of their importance, both parks were declared Natural Patrimony of the Humanity in the 2000 year.
Worked in reddish arenaceous, you can see formation of up to 50 meters of height and strong walls that arrive up to 150 meters into the canyon of 4 kilometers of length. Geoforms which are possible to be seen in the National Park Talampaya are: The MANGER, the BALCONIES, the ELEVATOR, the CHIMNEY, the PARTENÓN, the CÓNDOR/the OWL, the THREE CASTLES, the MONK and next to this one the last one CHESSBOARD.
The culminating point of the visit to the Canyon of Talampaya is the CATHEDRAL, that receives his name by its great dimensions (rocky walls of more than 100 meters of height) and by the diversity of formation that the popular imagination associated with religious references, among them the Profile of Christ and the Magician King.
The old settlers shaped in petroglífics their pass by the region, these engravings of the natives, 6,000 years of antiquity, can see themselves in the BLACKBOARDS (Circuits of the Petroglífics).
You can see also, a mount orchard, native developed by one underground sheet of near water, denominated BOTANIC GARDEN.
Between the fauna of the park, the cóndor is one of the many species of birds that fly over the canyon. Apart from this, the gray foxes abound.

CIRCUITS
_Circuit el Monje_
_Circuit Los Cajones_
_Circuit Ciudad Perdida_