Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Most visitors to Torotoro come for the paleontology. The village, which sits in a wide sec-
tion of a 20km-long valley at an elevation of 2600m, is flanked by enormous, inclined
mudstone rock formations bearing bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaur tracks from the
Cretaceous period (spanning 145 million to 65 million years ago).
There are numerous tracks
(huellas)
all over the place and much work remains to be
done on their interpretation. Many different dinosaur species are represented, both herbi-
vorous and carnivorous.
The closest tracks are just at the entrance to the village, on the other side of the river.
Above the water but below the road are the area's largest tracks, made by an enormous
quadruped dinosaur (diplodocus or similar), and they measure 35cm wide, 50cm long and
20cm deep. Near here, just above the road, the angled plane of rock reveals a multitude of
different tracks, including a long set from a heavy quadrupedal dinosaur that some have
posited are those of the armadillo- like ankylosaurus.
Along the route to Umajalanta cave, the flat area known as the Carreras Pampa site has
several excellent sets of footprints (on both sides of the path). These were made by three-
toed bipedal dinosaurs, both herbivores (with rounded toes) and carnivores (pointed toes,
sometimes with the claw visible).
All the tracks in the Torotoro area were made in soft mud, which then solidified into
mudstone. They were later lifted and tilted by tectonic forces. For that reason, many of the
tracks appear to lead uphill. Many local guides, however, incorrectly believe that the foot-
prints were made in lava as the dinosaurs fled a volcanic eruption.
Sea Fossils
In a small side gully, an hour's walk southwest of Torotoro on the Cerro de las Siete
Vueltas (Mountain of Seven Turns - so called because the trail twists seven times before
reaching the peak), is a major sea-fossil deposit. At the base of the ravine you may see
petrified shark teeth, while higher up the limestone and sedimentary layers are set with
fossils of ancient trilobites, echinoderms, gastropods, arthropods, cephalopods and brachi-
opods. The site is thought to date back about 350 million years. There's another signific-
ant sea-fossil site in the
Quebrada Thajo Khasa
, southeast of Torotoro.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Pachamama Wasi
(Sucre s/n; admission B$5)
This amazing and beautiful house-museum is the quirky home
of a man who has spent years of his life pacing the
cerros
with a rockhound's eye. The
house is like a botanic garden, but made of stones: fossils, geological quirks and unusually
shaped rocks form a unique, soothing ensemble. It's uphill from the main street but only
open when the owner or his family are at home.
MUSEUM
