ARCHAEOLOGY

In Loreto?s environs you?ll find various rocky areas where you can see colorful cave paintings.

Cuevas Pintas ? Located in Sierra La Giganta, 15 km (9 mi) west of Loreto, off the state highway. At these caves you can see abstract figures painted in red, black, white and yellow. The paintings depict scenes of the pre-Hispanic people who inhabited the Baja California Peninsula region.

Sierra de San Francisco ? Located more than 300 km (186 mi) northwest of Loreto, off Transpeninsular Highway 1. Here you?ll find about 300 sites where you can see impressive cave paintings of mostly human figures. Researchers believe the paintings are about 3,000 years old.

Cueva La Pintada ? Located 300 km (186 mi) northwest of Loreto, off Highway 1. This site offers some of the best examples of the region?s cave paintings. You?ll find them on a steep, about 60 meters (198 feet) above the bottom of a gorge. They extend about 150 meters (495 feet) across the rocky surface and depict dozens of images of human figures in diverse positions. The black and ocher drawings also include animal figures, such as birds and reptiles.