I visited the Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in March 2024. Having already seen the El Raton replica paintings in the Anthropological Museum of Mexico City, and judging by their small size, limited quality and ease of accessibility, I opted to visit the El Palmarito Cave or Cueva Cuesta de Palmarito which involves arranging a trip with an experienced driver owning a suitable high clearance 4WD car (expect to pay 150-200 US dollars for the car and driver if you're alone), who in turn fixes a time with the site "ranger" to collect the entrance fee (around 500 pesos including entrance, camera fees and guide), who in turn sets up a local guide (one of the two available - a fit old former farmer who lives alone there or a younger ranchero proudly wearing his iconic hat) who accompanies you along the 1-1.5 hour trek (one way) and opens/locks the protective fence around the cave. Another advantage of organizing a trip with a driver is that he can take care of contacting the INAH office instead of you reporting at their office during their limited opening hours (frequently closed on weekends or during siesta times, so not very convenient if you're booked for a whale watching the day before!).

The Cuesta de Palmarito cave is located on one of the slopes that fall into the small valley of Santa Marta, where a very small "rancheria" community of herders/farmers is located. The red and black painted figures of the cave are mostly located at the top of the rock wall that shapes this cave, which is one of the highest in the area. The best preserved ones (also having bright yellow hues) are those on the cave ceiling as the ones further at the bottom are weathering very quickly. It is believed that the El Palmarito cave paintings are one of the first referenced by the missionaries, mainly by Jesuit Father José Mariano Rothea, who served as a missionary in San Ignacio, which was the closest religious establishment to the indigenous rancheria. 

This site, like many others with cave paintings, has been related to the existence of several indigenous myths that account for the beginning of life and the creation of the first human beings in the ancient peninsular world. On the other hand, it has been considered that in general the cave paintings may also be related to the representation of the dead, the "possession of the spirit, the trance" and a "flight" that would be achieved by different means, but notably through the intake of native hallucinogenic plants that grow in the peninsular mountains. The El Palmarito cave has been dated to around 9,200 years ago, thanks to a female figure found there. This makes this place the oldest with cave paintings, even older than another dated figure of San Borjita, which was considered to be the oldest before, dating back to 7,500 years ago. Now there is a very small and limited information panel in Spanish near the wooden viewing platform but don't expect much.

The paintings are believed to be to product of the Cochimi people of Baja California, culturally extinct around the 19th century. Radiocarbon dating of some of the cave paintings has suggested that some go back to as early as 5500 BC to as late as European contact in the 18th century, although in the AB evaluation, initially they were dated from 1100 BC to 1300 AD. Apart from the paintings of humans, the animal species depicted include deer, wild sheep, rabbit, puma, lynx, whale, turtle, fish and birds. One of the latter literally appeared to come to life when I visited, as I noticed a tiny colourful hummingbird that built its nest inside one of the many cracks within the original paintings of what seemed like a bird.

Apart from the El Raton replica paintings, in the Anthropological Museum of Mexico City I also noticed great replicas of what seem to perhaps be the best examples of rock paintings of the 250 locations with rock paintings. These are the replicas of the Cueva La Pintada or La Pintada Cave, which require a guided 3 day trip with mules to get to the original paintings in an area known as Santa Teresa or Salsipuedes. Depending on the level of fitness and the time taken to get there and back, it is possible to combine or extend such an in-depth visit with a visit to the caves of San Julio, La Soledad and Las Flechas too. There are only a couple of information boards with instructions on how to pay the visit the "mural sites" but no official UNESCO WHS plaque.