Quebrada de los Cuervos

Uruguay is mostly rolling grassland, which is what makes this ravine unusual: a deep cut in the hills where the microclimate is humid enough to hold a subtropical gallery forest quite unlike the surrounding countryside, with ferns, epiphytes and species otherwise found much further north. It was the country's first protected area of its kind. A loop trail descends from the rim through the forest to the stream at the bottom and climbs back, taking a few hours, with viewpoints over the ravine on the way. The name refers to the black vultures that ride the thermals above it, usually visible circling at eye level from the upper viewpoints. There is a campsite and a small visitor centre at the entrance.

What you actually see

• The rim viewpoints - looking down into the wooded ravine.
• The descent trail - the loop through gallery forest to the stream.
• Black vultures - riding thermals above the gorge, often at eye level.
• The stream and pools - the shaded bottom of the ravine.

When to go

October to April for warm weather; the descent is slippery after rain and the trail can close. Spring brings the forest at its greenest. Summer weekends bring Uruguayan campers.

Honest expectations

The access road is gravel and can be rough. Facilities are basic, with a campsite and little else, and there is nothing in the way of accommodation nearby. The trail down and back up is steeper than the modest distance suggests and slippery in wet conditions. Do not expect dramatic scale: this is a modest ravine whose interest is ecological.

Nearby

Treinta y Tres is the nearest town; the Atlantic coast lies southeast.