Valle de Santiago

Valley of Santiago

This small unspectacular town sits just north of Laguna deYuriria (Yuriria Lagoon), you could easily drive through it without really noticing anything unusual - in fact many of the people who live there are oblivious to where they are. So what is all the fuss about? well to really see it you need to be looking down from a satelite, the town of Valle de santiago is built on the edges of an exticnt volcano, and within about a 1 to 2 mile radius there are half a dozen or more volcano craters clearly visible (from the right viewpoint) historically most ofthese volcanos had a water in their craters though these days the water has generally dried up.

Inside one of the largest craters we ventured inside and 'discovered' a small community living within the crater - surrounded on all sides by the crater walls hidden away completely from the world beyond the crater. Local folklore states that the water in the craters, and indeed that of Lago Uriria would turn red when there was a disaster coming, given the volcanic nature of the pools this is actually quite feasible if the disaster coming was to be an eruption or an earthquake.

Valle de Santiago from space - the numerous circular craters are clearly visibleWhere the soil has been washed away the layers of hardened lava can be seenWhilst this craterwas unreachable, we could still get close enough to see the lagoon insideThe terrain to reach the craters is extremely rough and shouldn't be attemted withouteither a sturdy 4 wheel drive, or sturdy hiking bootsThe town of Valle de SantiagoOne of the tallest craters, still accessible - it offers an excellant view of its shorter brothersSome of the wild terrain on route to Hoya de AlvarezThe small village inside the craterThis small cut away in the crater wall is the only access pointThe village lies tucked awayagainst the side of the craterThe sheer cliffs of the crater wall shield the hoya completely from the outside worldA lizard enjoys the mid-day sun, basking on top of this large volcanic rockThis view puts into perspective the scale of the inner walls of the craterOur three triumphs - clearly depicting the now dormant volcanoesPerhaps the best view of Hoya de AlvarezThe town of Valle de Santiago - the crater in the centre of town is clearly visibleAnother of the nearby volcanic cratersAnother method of getting across the sometimes tricky terrain

One ofthe largest and most splendid craters, known as both Hoya de Alvarez (Pot of Alvarez) and Joya de Alvarez (Jewel of Alvarez). both names are apropriateInside the crater of Hoya de Alvarez, it is inside here that lives a small farming communityA view taking in one of the smaller craters, even thisone is madeuse of by the local farmersPanoramic view over Valle de Santiago from the highest crater360 degree panorama taken from the centre of the crater