Argentina
Really awesome national park. Free. Worth the dirt road you need to drive on. Huge trees made of stone! Good dirt road. Camping inside the park is not permitted but there is a clean toilet at the ranger station. Take the time to read through the "museum" and to understand the petrification process (this is explained in English).
It's allowed to spend the night inside the car by the road, close to the ranger station or at the base of the vulcan ahead, you just have to register at the park entrance.
Why? By checking in after you’ve visited a place you let others know this place is still functional. You can also add or correct any information.
Entrance no longer free. It’s 8000 per person as of December 2024. It will probably double in price soon. I added a photo of the prices of nearby attractions as well. Argentine inflation…
Report Check-InStop here to register and also to do the hike around the petrified trees. WiFi and toilets. Very lovely people running it and a nice little museum which we got a little private tour around! From here it’s around a 15km drive to the ‘camping’. We had pets which aren’t allowed, but they didn’t ask us or look in the car. Kept them in anyway as we were warned about pumas. Wasn’t an issue.
Report Check-InParque lindo, uma experiência incrível, na portaria tem banheiros e um museu, onde é explicado toda a história, você pode tocar em alguns exemplares no museu, porém não pode tocar nos troncos petrificados da trilha.
A trilha são 2km de extensão, tem várias placas explicativas no meio do caminho.
Muito lindo, vale super a pena a visitação.
Horário de visitação de outubro a abril é de 9hrs da manhã até as 19hrs.
Visiting Hours:
October to March: 10am-5pm
April-September: 9am-7pm
Parc gratuit avec les explications en images sur l’évolution du site sur ces 150 derniers millions d’années.
Les routes est par moment avec pas mal de « taule ondulée » où vous ne dépasserez pas les 20km/h. Depuis la R3, on a mis 2 heures pour faire près de 50 km.
Nous avons demandé pour dormir sur le parking et le ranger a accepté pour autant qu’on n’aille pas se promener en-dehors des heures d’ouverture.
Vous aurez également accès au wifi du musée
Excellent free national park. The petrified trees are definitely worth seeing. The site does get the wind though and the highest point can be closed if they think it's too windy.
The gravel road in is now in two parts, due, it appears, to some mining activity in the area. The first half is a wide gravel road in mostly good condition until the turn off for the mine site. There was a fair amount of truck traffic on this part. The second half of the road as it enters the national park is narrower, with more ruts and loose gravel. But still pretty good by South American standards. From the main road (Ruta 3) to the visitor centre was just under an hour for me on a dual-sport motorcycle.
Report Check-InThe road is 50km of washboard, not bad but also not as good as previous reports state. We needed 1.5-2h driving slowly. Very similar to other unpaved roads in this part of the country.
Friendly ranger, interesting tour. Worth the visit if you never saw petrified trees before. Still free. Wi-Fi available at the entry (no password).
Report Check-InSuch a nice place to discover. Worth the detour. Gravel road is good condition. Park is free, there is a little museum that explains everything is spanish and english.
Then a 2km walk around the petrified trees.
Very very nice
Not sure if the road conditions changed or if we have a higher tolerance for dirt roads, but this was one of the best dirt roads we have driven since Canada. You can safely drive 60-80 kmh, so its more or less a 1 to 1 1/2 hour detour from R3. I think its worth it.
Report Check-InFabulous! For me something completely unique on my PanAm journey. Landscape driving in is also fantastic. Well worth the hour off R3.
Report Check-InPetrified grove. Here the Guardaparque explain the history of these trees. There is a walk of about 2 km where you will stroll in the middle of the stone trunks, a very pretty landscape. On the RP 49 coming you will surely see guanacos and nandous. We also saw maras and gray foxes. The track is in good condition for all types of vehicles. By asking the Guardaparque you may be able to sleep on site. Free entry.
bosquet pétrifié. ici les guardaparque vous expliquent l’histoire de ces arbres. il y a une balade à pieds d’environ 2 km où vous vous baladerez au milieu des tronc de Pierre, paysage très joli. sur la rp 49 en venant vous verrez sûrement des guanacos et des nandous. nous avons aussi vu des Maras et des renards gris. la piste est en bon état pour tous types de véhicules. en demandant au guardaparque vous pourrez peut-être dormir sur place. entrée gratuite.
Report Check-Insuper endroit dans un calme absolue ! on a vu plusieurs animaux (guanaco, choique, mara) sur le chemin. La marche vaut vraiment la peine c'est magnifique ! Le guardaparque est super sympa
Report Check-InWe loved this place :)
Reaaally worth the detour!
The road is very good, we think everyone can get here!
Cool place to visit. Really fun to see the trees and learning about the proces in the visitor centre. It's a 2 km walk. It took us one hour. There is free wifi at the centre and a bathroom. The ranger told us that he saw 14 pumas in the national park in the two years that he was working there. So maybe you are also lucky :)
Enjoy
Very nice and helpful rangers explaining the history of the place, which is of a great geological importance! Great views and the landscapes resemble very much to Ichigualasto provincial park at the province of San Juan. The road is not that bad, though it's 50 km of a gravel road, but it's definitely doable.
Report Check-InWorth the bumpy 50 km ride. The ranger was super nice. On our way here we saw a lot of guanacos and maras 😍
Report Check-InNice free Parc. However, I found the road (coming from R3) with a 4x4 motor home rather bad. But we saw many interesting animals on the way (maras, armadillos).
Report Check-InReally great park to visit! The petrified remains of the trees are amazing to see. If you have any interest in geology, you would really enjoy it here. The surrounding scenery is also very pretty.
Report Check-InWorth a visit. Beautiful landscape and views. 2km walk among petrified trees in an amazing scenery.
Report Check-InFew places like this one. Worth visit. At this date gravel road is perfectly. 9am to 7pm hi season. Low season 10am a 5:00pm. Free entrance. Correct name: Monumento natural bosques petrificados
Report Check-InWe’ve just visited this park and in the first opinion we were little bit sad that we spent 50km to go there but we gave them a chance. I must say - it is really nice!!! The ranger was so passionate about it that he made us to be passionate also! It is 2km walk-very easy. Nice views and you can see and touch trees which they have been here since dinosaurs!!! That made really happy. Also some guys had a problem with their tire and the rangers helped them a lot :)
Report Check-Inupdate: road is being fixed, suitable for any vehicle
Report Check-InI agree with the other comments: very interesting, clean and much better than you would expect of a free place.
Important: you are neither allowed to camp at the place itself nor anywhere within the park. The ranger will send you back and won't be very nice doing it. Take the wild camp on IOverlander about 11km away.
Report Check-InThis place should be on your itinerary!! Really friendly staff with great explanations, cute little museum, and really interesting to see the petrified trees. Well worth the detour.
Report Check-Inverry nice, but to day was verry windy and we can't do all the Sendero. Frindly Ranger. Gravelroad was fine. 40km/h with Van 2wd.
Report Check-InInteresting park to see the silicified trees. Nice staff. Easy gravel road, comfortably average 60kph for the 50km from Routa 3 in a small car.
Report Check-InBit of a drive off the 3.. about 40km. Not Dirt Road but Gravelled and a bit of corrugation too. Great place to visit and understand how it all happened. if Petrified Trees makes you curious go and see it. the Rangers are Ultra Freindly and appreciate visitors.
Report Check-InJust wanted to add that the sendero (path) is a 2km loop in order to see the petrified trees. Well worth it
Report Check-InAgree with the comments below. The road to get here is 'OK', the views are breathtaking! Really worth the detour! Friendly and helpful rangers.
Report Check-InDOG PROCESS: Officially no animals in NP but you can keep your dog in the van, park in front of the museum and hike in the park is possible. It is a walk in park so it is easy to visit with your dog. Just keep and hide in the van.
Report Check-InReally interesting national park, friendly and helpful ranger and absolutely amazing area. Definitely worth the detour.
Report Check-InAmazing site, much more impressive than the Gondwana-Africa equivalent in Namibia. Even or because of a Patagonia rainstorm the landscape and trunks were stunning. We liked it very much.
Report Check-InAmazing and magical place, definitely worth visiting!
It's for free, we where the only guests and the road seems to be repaired, no problems at all!
Report Check-InDon't miss this place, very very interesting and the area is beautifull!! Something completely different than you are used to. And the gravelroad was very good when we drove it.
Report Check-InInteresting petrification process, the ranger was very helpful. The Road is bad, specially for a Kombi Safari, but we could arrived! ;)
Report Check-InVery interesting, the rangers are great at explaining the petrification process. The road is okay: it's 50km from Ruta 3, all compacted round gravel with stretches of washboard and a few potholes. We drove 40-70km/h.
Report Check-InThe street isn't so bad, an the valley with all the different colors is worth to go there and yes of course the stone trees. The ranger was very kind, he gave me a binocular and a sit to see the stone trees, because of my broken foot.
Report Check-InThis is a great park. The staff was super friendly and gave a personal introduction to us, including a tour through the small-but-fine museum (which, elsewhere would be called Centro Interpretativo) which enabled us in a very practical way to understand what this park is about. The walk is approx. 2 km.
Report Check-InReally awesome national park. Worth the dirt road u need to drive on. Hughe trees made of stone! The road is not so bad.
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