Charkamak

Charkamak is the Aonikenk name for the valley of the Río Pinturas, a river that cuts a striking canyon through the Patagonian plateau before joining the Deseado. Its rock shelters preserve the Cueva de las Manos, where successive inhabitants painted hands, guanacos and hunting scenes over thousands of years. The valley’s name refers to plants used in preparing pigments, linking the river landscape with a long tradition of painting.