🇺🇾 Uruguay · Interior and Sierras
The Quebrada de los Cuervos is one of the most emblematic protected areas of Uruguay and was, in fact, the first in the country to receive that category. Located in the department of Treinta y Tres, in the Uruguayan east, it protects a deep canyon carved by the Yerbal Chico stream, surrounded by ranges, hill woodland and native forest, in a landscape that breaks with the flat image of the prairie.
The name of the place comes from the dark-colored raptors —popularly called 'cuervos' (crows), although they are actually vultures or caracaras— that fly over and nest in the walls of the canyon. The gorge concentrates a notable biodiversity: different types of forest (canyon, riverside and hill), a great variety of birds, mammals and a rich flora, which makes it a favorite destination for hiking and nature observation.
This guide walks you through the Quebrada de los Cuervos with a practical eye: what the protected area is like, which trails and viewpoints to walk, where to stay and camp, how to get there from the city of Treinta y Tres, and why this canyon of the Uruguayan east is an essential stop for lovers of nature and ecotourism.
The Quebrada de los Cuervos was declared a protected area in 1986, becoming the first in Uruguay, and it was later incorporated into the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) as the Protected Landscape 'Quebrada de los Cuervos and Sierras del Yerbal'. Managed as a Municipal Park by the Intendencia de Treinta y Tres, its name alludes to the dark raptors that nest in the walls of the canyon carved by the Yerbal Chico stream. The full history is on our history page.
Read the full history ↓The eastern department that bears the name of the Thirty-Three Orientals of 1825: a land of hills and rice fields beside Laguna Merín, home of the Olimar River and of criollo song, and of the Quebrada de los Cuervos, the first protected natural area in Uruguay.
Read the history of Treinta y Tres Department →No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
In a country as flat as a table, there is a gash. Right in the middle of the department of Treinta y Tres, the rolling prairie suddenly opens into a canyon of rocky walls tens of meters high, covered by an almost subtropical forest over which dark birds that everyone calls 'cuervos' —though they aren't— glide. It is the Quebrada de los Cuervos, a landscape that seems to be from another country and that, in 1986, became the first protected natural area in the history of Uruguay.
The gorge was formed over thousands of years by the erosive action of the Yerbal Chico stream, which carved that deep canyon into the range relief of the Uruguayan east. The result is a boxed-in gorge, with rocky walls and slopes covered in vegetation, which contrasts notably with the gentle undulation of the surrounding prairie.
This particular geography generated a great diversity of environments in little space. In the humid, shaded bottom of the canyon a lush canyon forest thrives; on the banks of the stream, a riverside woodland; and on the slopes and ranges, formations of hill woodland and grasslands. That variety of ecosystems explains the biological richness of the place, with an outstanding number of species of flora and fauna.
The name of the area alludes to the dark-plumaged raptors that nest in the cliffs of the canyon and that popular wisdom christened 'cuervos', although strictly they are species like vultures (urubúes) and caracaras. Seeing them glide over the gorge is one of the characteristic images of the place, which gives identity to this natural corner of the country's east.
The Quebrada de los Cuervos has a special place in the history of Uruguayan conservation: in 1986 it was declared a protected area, becoming the first in the country to receive that category. This milestone marked the beginning of the formal recognition of the value of Uruguay's natural ecosystems and opened the way for the later creation of a national system to protect other singular landscapes.
The recognition responded to the exceptional natural value of the canyon: its biodiversity, its different types of forest and the beauty of its landscape, all concentrated in a relatively small area. Protecting the gorge meant conserving a heritage that, otherwise, could be threatened by the expansion of farming and forestry activity in the region.
Over time, and as the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) of Uruguay consolidated, the Quebrada de los Cuervos was formally integrated. On 29 September 2008, decree No. 462/008 incorporated it into the SNAP under the figure of Protected Landscape, with an initial surface of about 4,413 hectares. In 2020, a new expansion brought the protected area to 19,395 hectares and gave it its current name, 'Quebrada de los Cuervos and Sierras del Yerbal'. This figure seeks to make the conservation of nature compatible with the traditional rural uses of the surroundings and with respectful tourism. Its condition as a pioneer made it a reference and a symbol of environmental care in the country.
The Quebrada de los Cuervos is set in the department of Treinta y Tres, whose name evokes one of the founding events of Uruguayan independence: the Liberating Crusade of the Treinta y Tres Orientales, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja in 1825, which sought to free the Provincia Oriental from Brazilian rule. That historical root and the strong gaucho and rural imprint mark the identity of the whole region.
The surroundings of the gorge are a landscape of estancias, ranges and country life, where traditional Uruguayan culture —mate, asado, breaking horses, the guitar— remains very present. This combination of protected nature and rural culture enriches the visitor's experience, who can add to the walks through the canyon the contact with country life and local hospitality.
In recent decades, the Quebrada de los Cuervos consolidated as one of the main ecotourism destinations in the Uruguayan east. Managed as a Municipal Park by the Intendencia de Treinta y Tres, it offers a visitor center, rangers, an interpretive trail of about 3.2 kilometers with nine stations and a campsite in the middle of nature. Hiking, birdwatching, camping and nature photography draw national and foreign visitors interested in discovering the country's less conventional landscapes. As the first protected area and as a canyon of singular beauty, it remains an emblem of Uruguayan nature tourism, a place where the pioneering conservation of 1986 translates today into an experience of direct contact with a unique ecosystem.
What makes the Quebrada de los Cuervos truly exceptional is the concentration of biodiversity in a relatively small area. The particular microclimate of the canyon —with little wind incidence, attenuated temperatures, alternation of sun and shade, and high levels of humidity— generates lush, almost subtropical plant forms, very different from the open vegetation that predominates in the rest of the country. It is estimated that around 70% of the native plant species of Uruguay are represented in the gorge, including numerous species of ferns, epiphytes, climbers and wild yerba mate itself, which gives its name to the Yerbal Chico stream.
The fauna is equally notable: 138 species of birds have been recorded (among them the so-called 'cuervos' —red-headed, black-headed and yellow-headed vultures— as well as seriemas and other raptors), 29 species of mammals (such as the lesser anteater, the margay cat and the seven-banded armadillo), 30 species of reptiles and 21 of amphibians. This richness made the place a reference site for naturalists, researchers and birdwatchers from all over the country.
From the ecological point of view, the Quebrada de los Cuervos is not an isolated case: it is part of a set of gorges associated with the hill ranges of the Uruguayan east that function as a biological corridor, connecting the different range environments of the country's south with the subtropical forests of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. That function as an ecological bridge between ecoregions is one of the central reasons why the area was prioritized for its protection.