An intriguing gallery of pre-Colombian rock art can be found at Monumento Arqueológico Valle del Encanto, a rocky tributary canyon of the Río Limarí 19km west of Ovalle. An array of petroglyphs and pictographs depict dancing stick-men, alienlike figures with antennae and characters sporting spectacular headdresses. The valley rocks are also riddled with holes called tacitas, which were used as mortars to grind ceremonial plants and food.
