Paseo de los Colorados

I had heard that the best time to view the colored mountain is just after dawn. Fortunately, this late in the Argentine summer, dawn broke today at 7:15 AM. We dragged our butts out of bed and were out the door at the crack of dawn and headed up to one of the town's lookouts to watch the spectacle. Sadly, it doesn't open until 9:00, but we noticed a path running alongside it called El Paseo de los Colorados.

It was a lovely morning, so we decided to explore the path a little further while we waited for the sun to crest the mountains. That was the best decision of the day. As we started our hike, we came across a sign in Spanish that read, "It is forbidden to climb the hill." And right above it were perched three very menacing-looking stray dogs who graciously allowed us to pass by. It truly appeared as though they were the guardians of the mountain. Perhaps they were.

Just getting a close-up look at Mother Nature's work to sculpt the terrain into what it is today was worth getting out of bed for.

In the end, El Paseo is about a four kilometer circular route around the Colored Mountain and offers more eye-popping vistas than one can imagine. In fact, so impressive were the views that when the sun finally popped over the mountains and lit up the seven colored hill, it was a little anticlimactic.

But, overall, what an amazing way to start the day!Read more