Ancient Cave Paintings in Baja Sur: The 10,000-Year-Old Art You Can Only See on Sundays

One day, about 30 years ago, Norberto Moreno, now age 83, walked into the wilderness of his backyard as he had done many times before and stumbled upon a boulder containing ancient rock art that had been hidden in plain sight for more than ten thousand years.

“I told the government, but they didn’t take me seriously. Finally, they sent some experts to the ranch and confirmed that I did not paint them myself,” Moreno, better known as “Don Beto,” explained.

Not entirely surprising, considering cave paintings and pictographs have been found scattered throughout the mountains of Baja Sur, believed to be from the Pericú, Guaycura, or Cochimí peoples, indigenous groups who inhabited this peninsula long before any European set foot on it.

Nowadays, Don Beto will guide you into the same pristine foothills covered in larger-than-life cacti and gnarly mesquite trees. But you can’t just book a tour. You have to call Leftery Mirando, Don Beto’s grandson, to set it up. They only go on Sunday mornings.

Clad in military fatigues, black workman pants, and gripping a machete, he led us about 2.5 miles into the bush behind his ranch, telling stories and pointing out useful flora and fauna. He once slept a night in the path and a puma politely walked around him. This plant bandages wounds. You can eat that one if you’re lost.

During the 4-hour hike through the Baja wilderness, the air seemed to hold its breath. Halfway there, the silence was pierced by the haunting hiss and the unmistakable chatter of a rattlesnake. Then, by a shriek pitched so high it took me a second to realize it came from me, and not a wild animal. We also encountered a few of Don Beto’s wild cows.

Several times we stopped to observe smoothed out bowls carved into stones, where human hands once prepared food—quiet evidence of a civilization going about its daily life in these same hills thousands of years ago.

When we finally reached the boulder, I stood there trying to wrap my mind around ten thousand years. Ancient dust on the side of an even older rock, forgotten for generations.

I turned to Don Beto. He was just a blink in comparison, but he’d become part of the story himself. Its keeper now. And every Sunday morning, when someone like me calls, he ensures it won’t be lost again.

To visit the rock art site outside La Paz, contact Leftery Mirando to arrange a Sunday morning guided hike. Tours depart from Don Beto’s ranch, approximately 30 minutes from La Paz, Baja California Sur. The hike is approximately five miles round trip and takes around four hours. Wear sturdy shoes, bring water, and watch where you step.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Cabo page.