The story of a place
Human marks in a vast Patagonian landscape
Cueva de las Manos is remarkable for the immediate presence of its hand stencils and the much longer timescale they suggest. The rock art belongs within the Río Pinturas landscape, where cliffs, shelter and movement through the country provide essential context.
The experience is strongest when scale shifts: first the canyon, then the sheltered rock face, then individual marks. Different motifs and episodes of painting should not be compressed into one imagined moment. Conservation and interpretation help preserve both the physical surface and the uncertainty that remains about aspects of its meaning.
The essential experience
Make time for this.
Join the authorised guided visit and give equal attention to the art and the canyon setting.
Explore the highlights
Look a little closer.
Look for the painted hand outlines against the rock of the Patagonian shelter.
Hand stencils
Observe variations in size, overlap and arrangement without touching the surface.
Other motifs
Look beyond the hands to the wider painted record.
Rock shelter
Consider why this location offered a useful surface and setting.
For the curious reader
History, landscape
and context.
Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands or Cave of Hands) is a cave and complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, 163 km (101 mi) south of the town of Perito Moreno. It is named for the hundreds of paintings of hands stenciled, in multiple collages, on the rock walls. The art was created in several waves between 7,300 BC and AD 700, during the Archaic period of pre-Columbian South America. The site is considered by some scholars to be the best material evidence of early South American hunter-gatherer groups. Argentine surveyor and archaeologist Carlos J.
Background reading: an abridged extract from Cueva de las Manos, by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and shortened for this guide. Retrieved 22 September 2026. Source revision ↗.
Turn curiosity into a visit
Plan your visit.
- Physical demands
- Expect outdoor walking and exposure to Patagonian weather; confirm the exact route and access needs.
- The practical detail
- Perito Moreno town and the famous Perito Moreno Glacier are different places, far apart. Check the destination carefully when planning.
Before you set off.
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A place in the world
Find your bearings.
Select the pin to open a detailed map. Use Closer look to see the surrounding region. Drag to move a zoomed map.
Map: Natural EarthA closer view.
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- 1Cueva de las ManosOpen directions ↗ · Location reference ↗
A sense of place
In pictures.
Keep looking.
10 photographs, with full-size views and individual credits.
Go a little further
Sources & further reading.
The UNESCO link names the specific inscribed property. A broad entry in this project can extend beyond that property’s boundaries.
