Fauna Trail

I had absolutely decided that we would do the challenging hike to the Towers today. However, the weather still looked iffy and our guide warned that there was a distinct possibility that we would not be able to see the Towers when we arrived. The whole park was shrouded in clouds, though the rains had nearly stopped.

Hiking 22 km in the rain did not particularly appeal so we gladly opted for the easier fauna trail and lookout stops instead. As it turned out, we made a fantastic choice! Though the weather was cloudy, it did not rain much after we started walking and we were blessed with all kinds of wildlife sightings- hundreds of guanacos, pygmy owls, a couple condors, a red fox, lesser rheas, and more. We also hiked to one of the only places in the park with prehistoric cave paintings. About this time of day, the weather started to clear and we begin to get a sense of the grand mountains surrounding us.