Petrified Forest Jaramillo – Santa Cruz

🪨A journey to the Jurassic period among ancient araucaria trees and steppe landscapes

In the northeast of Santa Cruz, 140 km from Jaramillo and Fitz Roy, lies the Jaramillo Petrified Forest National Park, a geological wonder that preserves more than 78.500 ha from the Patagonian steppe and plant fossils dating back more than 150 million years.

This petrified forest is unique: trunks of Araucaria mirabilis up to 30 m long and 3 m in diameter lie turned to stone, like silent giants bearing witness to a distant, humid past.

⏳ Why visit this park?

• Impressive open-air fossils: Walking alongside these stone monuments allows you to imagine the Jurassic jungle that existed before the emergence of the Andes.

• Easy and accessible paleontological trail: A guided circuit of only 2 km, accessible to all ages, with interpretive signage explaining the petrification process and the current fauna and flora of the area.

• Patagonian forest and wildlife: Among the fossilized tree trunks, you can now see guanacos, gray foxes, lesser rhea, and small birds such as chingolos and comesebos, accompanied by the constant wind typical of the steppe.

• Volcanic landscape: The iconic Cerro Madre e Hija, remnants of Jurassic volcanism, rises as the backdrop for the tour, along with striking colors on the plateau and the occasional presence of temporary lagoons