The natural park Ischigualasto in the north-eastern province of San Juan in Argentina is often called the Lunar Valley (Valle de la Luna). The place looks mysterious and resembles the surface of the Moon. The park is located five hours drive from the provincial capital. The main tourist routes pass far from these places, therefore the Moon valley is rarely visited by tourists.

The valley was formed about 230 million years ago and now it has become a source of interesting discoveries for paleontologists. The first dinosaur was found here in the middle of the twentieth century,  besides bones of the basal dinosaurs  living 250 million years ago were found.

 

Now the valley is almost lifeless: there are almost no animals and no plants. But there are a lot of unusual geological formations. The strongest impression is made by "Cancha de bochas". Amazing stones which resemble balls cover the earth and give an unusually mysterious view of this area. The diameter of these balls is about 50 - 70 cm, they are perfectly polished. By the way, the name Ischigualasto means "the place where you put the moon".