La Piedra Pintada

The Coloured Stone or La Piedra Pintada is a huge boulder adorned with pre-Columbian carvings. Locals often fill in the grooves of the petroglyphs with chalk to facilitate their viewing, but their meaning isn't clearer. That doesn't prevent children from giving their interpretation of the petroglyphs, (in Spanish only).

One of these interpreters, Seneida Milena Rivera, says she learned the 'story of the rock' at school. Amid a 10-minute explanation of the graffiti-like carvings, she takes her bamboo pointing stick and identifies an x carved into the rock. It represents the burial site of a powerful chief who died many centuries ago, she says. 'The site moos like a cow every time it rains,' she adds. Due to one report of theft from a vehicle near the entrance of the trail leading to the petroglyphs, it's best to come by bus even if you've got your own wheels. The site can be reached by a yellow school bus with 'Pintada' above the windshield. It passes along Av Central every 30 minutes, from 06:00 to 19:00).