Suitcase and World: Piedras Rojas (Red Rocks)

Monday, January 30, 2017

Piedras Rojas (Red Rocks)


I've only been in the altiplano for a few hours and already I have fallen head over heels in love with this place. For me, this is Eden on earth - the air is unpolluted, the land is pristine and the water....well, it comes in more shades of blue and green than I could've ever imagined. On the surface a place called Red Rocks does not sound like much of place to visit but do not let the name fool you into thinking that this place could be anything less than stunning.

Usually drives are boring but here, there were plenty of snow dusted volcanic peaks to satisfy the eyes. I don't know what this place looks like any other time of year but in winter, when the grass is bright yellow orange in color, the views are so dramatic, it's incredible.


We were driving along and then all of sudden, Pato stopped the car and we all got out.  I don't know who could've spotted these two creatures nestled in a crook of several large rocks but there they were  - a  pair of viscacha otherwise known as chinchillas.  We all kept a good distance from the pair and were quiet as we really did not want to disturb them. They are so cute looking....like rabbits but with a longer tail.


Our destination was Piedras Rojas (Red Rocks), so named because of the large swath of rocky land that is red from the oxidation of iron contained within the rock. There's also a pair of lagoons here.

Pato parked the van at the top of the hill and Pedro set us free to explore the place on our own.  Everyone pretty much went their own way.  I slowly made our down to towards the edge of the lagoon taking  photos along the way.  It really is hard to capture the stunning beauty of this place in pictures; my photos do not do it justice.  You really do have to see it in person!




I don't know why but for some reason I expected craggy rock surfaces but in fact, the surface is quite flat.  It almost looks like lava flow.




The rock landscape was a beautiful but for me, it could not hold a candle to this small lagoon. 


The milky green color of the water was so other worldly to me and when the sun reflects of the surface, the water looks like it's shimmering.  In all my travels, I have never seen anything like this!  To me, it's just breath taking.  Bro was standing near the water's edge and he was waving for me to come join him.  I was so captivated by the viewing I was seeing, I refused to move. In hindsight, I should've gone to his spot because from his vantage he was seeing a snow capped volcano peak behind the lagoon.  That would have been a magnificent view indeed!




As our day progresses, the landscape gets more dramatic.  The best is yet to come!