Toro Muerto Petroglyphs

Toro Muerto is a field of several thousand white volcanic boulders spread over several square kilometres of desert above the Majes valley, and something in the order of two thousand five hundred of them are carved. The engravings include dancers with headdresses, camelids, snakes, felines, birds, geometric patterns and abstract designs, pecked through the dark weathered surface to the pale rock beneath. They are generally attributed to the Wari period and later, roughly 500 to 1400 AD, with some possibly earlier, and one line of interpretation connects the dancing figures to altered states induced in ritual. There is no shade, no water and very little marking on the ground; a guide is genuinely useful because the best panels are scattered and easily missed. The site has suffered from vandalism and from boulders being moved or broken, and it is not fully protected.

What you actually see

• The boulder field - several thousand white blocks over square kilometres of desert.
• The carvings - dancers, camelids, felines, snakes and geometric designs.
• The technique - pecked through dark weathered crust to pale stone beneath.
• The scale - around two thousand five hundred carved boulders.

When to go

Year-round; go early, as there is no shade at all and midday heat is extreme. Two to four hours on site. Take water.

Honest expectations

Severe heat, deep sand underfoot and no shade or facilities. The best panels are widely scattered and hard to find alone. Vandalism and graffiti are visible. Do not climb on or touch the carved surfaces.

Nearby

Corire is in the valley below; the Majes valley continues towards the coast.