Jeinimeni National Reserve

Jeinimeni was a national reserve and is now the northern sector of Patagonia national park, covering dry steppe, lakes and rock formations south of Chile Chico. Two things bring people. The Cueva de las Manos here - not the larger Argentine site of the same name, but a Chilean cave on the same tradition - carries hand stencils made by blowing pigment around a hand held against the rock, several thousand years old. The Valle Lunar nearby is a small badland of eroded clay in pale colours. The road in crosses rivers without bridges, which is what limits access for much of the year.

What you actually see

• Hand stencils on a cave wall - pigment blown around a hand, millennia old.
• A Chilean site, not the Argentine one - the same tradition, different cave.
• The Valle Lunar badlands - eroded pale clay nearby.
• Now part of Patagonia park - the reserve absorbed into it.

When to go

December to March, when the river crossings are lowest. A full day.

Honest expectations

The unbridged crossings can stop a vehicle entirely and change with the weather - four-wheel drive and judgement are needed. Touching the paintings is prohibited. Facilities are camping and a ranger post. Wind is constant.

Nearby

Chile Chico is north; the Chacabuco valley sector is south-west.