The Place
A Legend in the Fields
Estancia La Aurora is a working cattle ranch on the banks of the Río Daymán, off Route 3 near the Salto–Paysandú border — about twenty minutes south of Salto city, a few kilometres beyond Termas del Daymán. Since the mid-1970s it has been at the centre of Uruguay's most famous unexplained-phenomena story, often compared to Roswell or Argentina's Cerro Uritorco.
It began with two precisely dated events. On the night of 3 March 1976, an old ombú tree on the property was found burning, pierced by a large hole, with scorched marks in the surrounding grass and dead animals nearby — on a night of clear skies, which made a lightning strike hard to sustain. Then, in the early morning of 17 February 1977, the estancia's owner, Ángel María “Toto” Tonna, reported an intensely luminous object descending over the corral during milking: a dog was found burned, a prize Normandy bull died, sheep were scorched, fences were cut, the generator was damaged — and the city of Salto lost electricity for hours.
Witnesses over the years — the Tonna family, farm workers, and visiting journalists and researchers — have described lights so intense they hurt the eyes, circular scorch marks in the pasture, toppled eucalyptus trees, and objects seen not only at night but also in broad daylight. Neil Armstrong is even said to have visited the estancia privately, drawn by the story — one of the many legends the place has gathered.
Uruguay is one of the few countries in the world with an official government body dedicated to the subject: the Air Force's CRIDOVNI commission. Its official position is that the known cases can be explained by atmospheric phenomena, natural causes or human action — yet its own officials have described the area's reports as unusually intriguing, and the mystery has never been put fully to rest.
“The first lights appeared — so powerful they hurt the eyes.” Witness descriptions of the 1976 events · La Aurora
Documented Events
Notable Sightings
An old ombú tree is found ablaze, pierced by a large hole that can still be seen today, with scorched marks in the grass and dead animals around it. The sky that night was clear — ruling out the obvious lightning explanation.
During early-morning milking, owner “Toto” Tonna reports an intensely luminous object descending over the corral. A dog is found burned, a prize Normandy bull dies, sheep are scorched, fences are cut — and Salto city is left without electricity for hours.
Circular burn marks appear in the pasture — described as if “a giant hot plate had rested on the grass” — along with toppled eucalyptus trees and strangely marked basalt stones. No crops, no hoaxed patterns: burnt ground, documented and photographed.
Witnesses describe lights so intense they hurt the eyes, including a circular glow some three metres across that descended with a pendulum motion before shooting upward. Sightings are not only nocturnal — objects have also been reported in broad daylight.
A television crew found its camera batteries mysteriously drained on successive days; two journalists watched a fireball hover over a reservoir a kilometre away. Researchers from Argentina and beyond have studied the site — and Neil Armstrong is said to have visited privately.
The Uruguayan Air Force's CRIDOVNI commission holds that known cases can be explained by natural causes or human action — yet its officials have called the reports “interestingly strange” and say no possibility is ruled out. The original 1976–77 events were never formally investigated.
Plan Your Trip
Experience La Aurora
Off Route 3 near the Daymán bridge, on the Salto–Paysandú border — about 20 minutes by car south of Salto city, just beyond Termas del Daymán.
The estancia itself is a private working ranch, closed to the public. Open to visitors is the Gruta del Padre Pío (1987), a shrine on the estancia's grounds that draws pilgrims from across the region.
Termas de San Nicanor, an estancia-style thermal retreat, is about 5 km away; Termas del Daymán a few kilometres north. Both pair naturally with a stop at the gruta.
Respect the property and its owners — the family has lived with decades of attention. The shrine is a place of quiet; the mystery is best enjoyed as part of the landscape's story.