Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas is not in your Lonely Planet. It is, however in the Rough Guide to Argentina. It is off the beaten track, but worth the effort to get there. The parque is known for its huge red gorge, but that wonder takes up just a fraction of the park. More than a national park, I think it should be referred to as a wildlife sanctuary as most of the park is out of reach of the ordinary passer through. Indeed, most people who see the gorge enter the park on a bus and spend just enough time gazing at the red muddy rocks so that they can snap a photo or two and then are back on the bus and on their way.

I recommend a different way to visit this park in the northwestern corner of the San Luis Province of Argentina. It takes a bit more effort, and the tourist office in the San Luis bus terminal will probably tell you that you can’t do it, but heed not their advice: it is totally doable. What getting to the park requires is taking a bus from San Luis heading to San Juan, the capital of the next province to the northwest. Talk with your driver before you begin the bus journey to let him know that you want to go to the Parque Nacional and make sure he is advised because the stop is not on their regular schedule. Nonetheless, the bus will pass right by the road which will bring you to the entrance to the park. Yes, so talk with the driver and pay attention as you reach about two hours into the trip. You’ll descend the bus, cross the highway, and walk down the road following the signs to the Paque Nacional. It’s quite walk in, about 9 km, so be prepared. You’ll need to stop at both the big house on your left, to get a free camping pass, as well as at the smaller hut past the house, to pay the 12 peso entrance fee. At neither stop will the men give you a map to the park with any labeled trails. This is so that all tours of the park must be contracted through a guide, so that you will have less chance of getting lost, and also so that another Argentine can make some money.

The tour is worth it, although it is entirely longer than need be. The guides know their stuff about the park, how the rock/mud formations were created, and about the flora and fauna of the region. All the tours are in Spanish, so if you don’t speak it, hopefully have a friend with you who can translate. Camping is pretty much restricted to the designated camping area. This happens to be an area of quite high winds, so try and find a spot to setup your tent where the sandy wind won’t be too much of a bother. Right there at the campsite there is a little store that is open from about 9 am to 3 pm. Mainly this store functions as a candy and lunch shop for those bus passengers, but you can also buy cooking oil and a few necessities like toilet paper for the camper’s needs. There are nice picnic tables for your use and also big grills. I expect those are more popular in summer months, and perhaps the whole park is.

The landscape itself is something to wonder at, our guide said the Sierra de las Quijadas were created by the movement of the Pacific and South American tectonic plates crashing into each other, with the South American plate rising and creating the mountains you can see in the park. The gorge was, and is continually, created by wind erosion.

In summation of my advice about this Parque Nacional I would say: go. Get off the Lonely Planet circuit and see some cool rocks and some beautiful sunsets.

If you'd like more information from websites which revolve around Argentine tourism, check out the links to the park here:

http://www.welcomeargentina.com/paseos/parque_las_quijadas/index.html

http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.ar/

or, more specifically:
http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.ar...jadas_PN.htm

There is an English language option on each website.