One of our first visits in La Paz was to the Valley of the Moon. It's a protected municipal area of about 37 acres of land. The soil is primarily composed of clay and sandstone rather than rock. Erosion is constant here. The results of erosion include craters, spires, caves, ditches, arches and white chimneys. It is mostly a beige or light brown color but there are some reds and violets as well.

The Valley of the Moon name was given to it by Neil Armstrong because the landscape reminded him of the moon. Neil visited here shortly after his trip to the moon in 1969. He was received as a guest of honor by local authorities.

The sad part to me was that our guide told us that the current preserve is only 10 - 15 percent of its original size. Before it was made a reserve, people claimed the land and built houses on it, using the clay to make their bricks. Our guide said that was typical of expansion of housing in Bolivia. People with very little money just moved farther out to the fringes of towns and cities and built there on cheap land.

Below is the entrance area to the Valley of the Moon reserve. The next two photos will give an idea of the landscape of the reserve.

We were given a choice at a junction point. We could choose a 20-minute hike or a one-hour hike. Vicky chose the shorter hike, and I chose the longer one. I took this photo of Vicky standing near the upper rim of the valley. The elevation was from around 10,500 to almost 12,000, so lots of ups and downs.

The next photo is just to give another view of the valley and reserve.

I took the next photo to show the houses that have encroached on the reserve, before it was a park. They are made of bricks from the clay in the park.