CAVE PAINTING ROUTE IN BAJA CALIFORNIA
Baja California offers important archeological riches that express themselves in its ancient cave paintings found all along the peninsula.
Calendar Markers
The “El Vallecito” (“little valley”) site is located 5km northeast of the town of “La Rumorosa” in the north of the peninsula. This site is the most well known in the state because of its location it can be visited in only one day.
Located in the highlands of the Sierra Juárez it spreads out some 200 hectares among pine and agave groves. There exist here rock formations with pictographs from various groups about different themes from the geometric abstract to representations of humans and stars. The most famous painting is “El Diablito” (“little devil”), an anthropomorphic figure in red with two undulating lines on its head reminiscent of horns. Its merit lies not only in its composition but also in its role as a calendar marker. Each year, on the winter solstice, the sun comes into the cave and illuminates directly and exclusively the eyes of “El Diablito”.
Near “El Vallecito”, on the 57 Km marker on the Rumorosa –Mexicali Highway there exists another formidable site. On this cube-shaped boulder there are several humanoid figures, some of theme done with white on soot-darkened backgrounds from ancient fires. There are also ancient carvings and mortars.
Some researchers believe that there has been a human presence here for tens of thousands of years but current evidence puts the earliest humans here at 8000 B.C. Nevertheless the before mentioned sites date were probably created in the last thousand years although some of the more resilient carvings might be older.
The Magic of the Paintings
In the area of the Guadalupe Valley there exists a group of paintings in a cliff located across from the “El Milagro” (“miracle”) Ranch.
South of the city of Ensenada, on the Trans-peninsular highway and near the town of San Vicente Ferrer there lies the “La Llave” (“the key”) Ranch. In this ranch, next to the San Vicente stream raises a 10-meter rock face covered in carvings. All the designs are geometric with a predominance of straight lines that are not yet understood. These may be the best preserved in the northwest of Mexico.
To the south, the next area is “Las Pintas” (“the paintings”) an extraordinary place. The site consists of a large group of enormous boulders between two hills. On the surface of the rocks there are hundreds of enigmatic white drawings. This is one of the most beautiful archeological sites in the State, partly because of its desert surroundings.
Of crosses and colors
Another interesting site lies some 50 meters southeast. It’s a small and dispersed group of carvings on the edge of the San Fernando creek. Two drawings draw attention; one is of a lone Latin cross while the other is a complex composition resembling a sailing boat. Some believe that these were made after the arrival of the Spanish, which is feasible because of the closeness to the Mission of San Fernando Velicatá founded by Friar Junípero Serra in 1769 and the coast where galleons sailed since the XVI century.
The painted cave of “Cataviña” is located 50 kilometers further southeast in the rocky part of the central desert and is a place worthy of visiting. The site contains magnificent murals. This site is three-meter long tunnel under a colossal hanging rock. The semi-circular roof has dozens of triangles, squares and striped rectangles, concentric circles and suns like those of “El Vallecito”.
The variety of color in only two or three square meters is astounding: black from magnesium oxide, ochre from iron oxide and white from limestone combine with the more mysterious yellow and orange.
Cataviña is at the frontier of a great enigma. Some 130 kilometers further south starts the Great Murals Zone (“grandes murales”); these are monumental paintings with representative art in real and exaggerated size.
Archeological sites of Baja California
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EL VALLECITO: Take federal highway #2 (Tijuana –Mexicali) to the town of La Rumorosa near the 73 Km marker. Take the dirt road on the north side of the highway west of town for 3 Km. You’ll pass by the “El Chipo” restaurant and cross through the “Santa María del Oro” Ranch. Open for entry Wednesday to Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Site closes at 5:00 p.m.
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Kilometer #57: Take federal highway #2 (Tijuana –Mexicali) and pull to the shoulder between the 57 and 58 Km markers and you’ll find it on the south side of the highway.
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El Milagro Ranch: Take the federal highway #3 (Tecate – Ensenada) to the town of Francisco Zarco in the Guadalupe Valley.
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La Llave Ranch: Take the Transpeninsular highway #1 (Ensenada – La Paz) to the town of San Vicente in the Valley of San Vicente Ferrer.
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Las Pintas: 22 Km east of the town of El Rosario de Arriba. Take the Transpeninsular highway #1 (Ensenada – La Paz) to the 81 Km marker and take the dirt road south 30 km to the ghost town of El Malvar. Turn left (east) at the first houses, continue straight and keep left at the fork in the road some 6 Km to the site.
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San Fernando Velicatá: Take the Transpeninsular highway #1 (Ensenada – La Paz) to the 119 Km marker past the town of San Quintín. Follow the signs leading to the ruins of the San Fernando Velicatá Mission. The site is a kilometer past the ruins.
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CATAVIÑÁ. Take the Transpeninsular highway #1 (Ensenada – La Paz) past the town of Cataviña (aka Santa Inés).
