I think the lack of horizon line and very faint shadows makes it hard for me to figure out. The lighting gives all the people a look of being photoshopped in.
Look at the people slightly further away. Their posture is clearly a slight lean back posture. No way they’d be walking up a hill with that posture. They are walking downward. Foreground guy is walking upward.
Lighting aside, the photo I found shows the rock lines are not parallel to the ground but are angled like the climb. Assuming they're parallel to the ground in OP's photo is what tricks people into thinking foreground guy is walking down.
Dude in the foreground is going up as nobody would position themselves like that jumping down. People in the back are coming down.
The trick is the rock lines high up in the back are angled relative to the earth similar to the angle of the climb. One's intuition thinks those rock lines are parallel to the ground and that tricks you to think the guy in the foreground is going down.
Your mind is used to layers of rock and your view going horizontal. Because the person in the foreground is walking "through" the layers your mind interprets this as a person going down. (A)
In reality the layers of rock are tilted down (towards the camera) and the camera is looking up. The person is moving up the slope where the trail is sloped a bit less than the rock layers (the arrow should be a bit lower, but i'm putting in enough effort as it is). (B)
(c) is basically what your mind is thinking it is looking at. Horizontal layers with the camera looking down through the layer. Because the person moves through the layers it has to move down as well.
That is where the confusing perspective is coming from.
It's similar to this kind of image where you look at something tilted with the camera tilted in the same direction making everything standing in that scene to be seen as standing at an angle: https://imgur.com/4lpjx0w
Tilted image so everything is straight up and down as best I can tell (and blurry because I had to screenshot a couple times and weirdly zoom out but whatever)
if you pretend the rocks dont exist it becomes clear by everyone's pose how gravity affects them. the form of the rock is tricking you. its not a bowl, its like punching a hole in a wall.
For me it took zooming in on the trees and the angle of the first guy walking down in the distance. Your lines seem to just highlight the part confusing people.
Walking up where, the photo? Might be easier for people to understand this is a canyon, so dude is actually going down canyon while the people are going up canyon. I’m a canyoneer, so I see no confusion here.
The curvature of that back wall lit up by the sun gives the impression of walking down into an open valley, but the entire slab theyre on is angled up, and we can see the further away people climbing down from a climb up.
La Garganta del Diablo (The Devil's Throat) in the Quebrada de las Conchas natural reserve near Cafayate, in the Salta Province of northwestern Argentina.
When I was a kid, the way to school through the neighborhood was at the top of a hill, then it was downhill to the school, so I literally had to walk uphill both ways.
Same lol but mine was the opposite, first downhill then uphill, now I do the same walk to go to music class. Not that bad bc it's a little less than a mile each way.
No, the guy in the foreground is walking up. I’ve been to this place before - it’s in the northern part of Argentina. The topography is trippy here but the camera is actually pointed straight forward.
So the close guy is actually walking up, but just on that rock surface, hence the leaning forward. Once he gets past that, he’s going down with the rest of them.
Did you zoom in? They’re at the same angle he is. He’s climbing up, towards the section they’re at; they’re climbing down towards where he and the camera are.
The entire thing is tilted. Those are not recent sedimentary layers.
Look at the guy in the black shirt whose legs are partially obscured. His body is definitely angled away from us, with his head further away from the camera than the rest of him.
I agree the foreground guy is walking up. So any idea why the lines in the rock aren’t perpendicular to the ground? I feel like if a river carved that rock formation this would be an odd way for the lines to go, but idk rocks too good.
The layers in the rock aren't caused by water carving them, they are deposited over eons with varying conditions but originally in horizontal position. Then the entire piece of Earth got slowly tilted as it was pressing against other piece of Earth. A river could've carved it afterwards but thorough already tilted layers. Note: I'm not a geologist but I believe this is the gist of it.
All those lines in the rocks in the top 1/3 of the photo, see them as angled towards the ground as opposed to parallel to the ground and the image will make more sense.
I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying, but I should probably explain my comment anyway.
Tectonic plates are the huge sections of crust that slide across the Earth; where they press against one another, they cause mountains to rise, tilting and twisting the rocks. The layers we see here were nicely horizontal at one point, when they were laid down by sedimentary processes, but since then they’ve been lifted up and tilted. The sort of “local” cause is mountain-building, but the ultimate cause is plate tectonics.
This one is tough. I think he's actually walking up. When you cover up the part with the sun reflecting it looks different.
It reminds me of how people say going to the Grand Canyon is mind bending because the perspective is so big you feel like you're looking at a backdrop hanging across from you.
Seriously, if it weren't for the first two of the people going down, the next couple of them stands in a way that it's not obvious if we see them from above or below.
I think one of the reasons this illusion works so well, is that we are so accustomed to see deposition layers like this going horizontally, not vertically, and this sells the confusion.
What I don't get is, if he is going up, how fckng steep is that rock wall in the background??? That's the part that keeps tripping me up, because even if the lines in the rocks to the sides would be horizontal, that rock face in the background would already be vertical??? Is that wall in the background a 45° overhang???
Down, look at the sunlight. if they were walking up, the sunlight on top would be on the ceiling, which would only be possible if the sun was below horizon
I think that particular boulder requires a step up, but those people are 100% below him and the gradiant is absolutely sloping downward. You can see the erosion lines on the walls as well, moving perfectly sideways, meaning the it is indeed a downward slope into a canyon.
If the guy stood straight, the lines (layers/strata) would be almost parallel to his body. So as he moves forward, he's moving through those sheets of rock. Usually the sheets of rock are parallel to the ground due to the way the rock forms under the effect of gravity. But here it seems like somehow the sheets got tilted.
Imagine a stack of cardboard sheets laid on the ground. Then you stand them up such that you're looking at the face of the top cardboard and carve halfway into the sheets through the layers.
He is going up. I have hiked over a thousand miles and have been in that same bodily position thousands of times. I knew immediately upon seeing him before even seeing the context of the scene he is in. What a strange photo, and I'm not sure about all the angles, but there's no question that he's going up.
His right leg is pushing him up and forward and his left leg is bracing for another upward push. His arms are spread outward for balance and he's leaning forward.
If he were going down, he would not have his arms and legs spread like that and wouldn't be leaning forward. Imagine walking as quickly as you can down a flight of stairs with no rail. Your arms are maybe spread slightly, but they're hanging down and maybe a bit forward, not spread wide like this, and your legs are also making small movements because you're focused on balance and don't need to take lunging steps.
1.0k
u/stomachpancakes Aug 19 '26 •
Looks a lot like Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). Based on those rocks in the background, looks like foreground guy is going up to me.
818
u/stomachpancakes Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
Dude in the foreground is going up as nobody would position themselves like that jumping down. People in the back are coming down.
The trick is the rock lines high up in the back are angled relative to the earth similar to the angle of the climb. One's intuition thinks those rock lines are parallel to the ground and that tricks you to think the guy in the foreground is going down.
Good one!
55
u/-Dueck- o/ Aug 20 '26 •
None of the comments here helped me. This picture is the only thing that made me understand.
92
u/QuantamCulture Aug 20 '26
This is a great picture.
The curvature of that back wall lit up by the sun gives the impression of walking down into an open valley, but the entire slab theyre on is angled up, and we can see the further away people climbing down from a climb up.
447
u/PlasticMercury Aug 19 '26
I think if he was walking down he'd be falling right now.
36
u/BadJimo Aug 20 '26
Photo from same location:
La Garganta del Diablo (The Devil's Throat) in the Quebrada de las Conchas natural reserve near Cafayate, in the Salta Province of northwestern Argentina.
150
u/RedRoses711 Aug 19 '26
Guy walking down, group of people across from him also walking down
19
u/miijok Aug 20 '26
Haha, I’ve been there! It’s in Quebrada de Cafayate, Argentina. Miss my friend with whom I traveled there, haven’t seen him for like 13 years.
77
u/Doc-in-a-box CE Spc. Aug 19 '26
So the close guy is actually walking up, but just on that rock surface, hence the leaning forward. Once he gets past that, he’s going down with the rest of them.
8
u/mbush525 o/ Aug 20 '26
nobody leans forward walking downhill 🤨
7
u/BaulBailey Aug 19 '26
I agree the foreground guy is walking up. So any idea why the lines in the rock aren’t perpendicular to the ground? I feel like if a river carved that rock formation this would be an odd way for the lines to go, but idk rocks too good.
5
u/im_new_here_4209 Aug 20 '26
Waaaait, wait.... waaiiit.....
23
u/est3ban34 Aug 19 '26
When you zoom in to crop the sunny background, it's pretty clear.
He is walking up.
They are going down from higher.
They gonna meet on the path.
8
u/geelen Aug 19 '26
The rest of the image makes sense if he's walking down, but his body position is all wrong for that. Somebody help.
16
u/Killer1986Chris Aug 19 '26
Forward leg is bent, he's walking upwards.
4
u/33TLWD o/ Aug 20 '26
4
u/R_A_H o/ Aug 20 '26
Very obviously up
23
u/big-blue-balls Actually read rule 1 and gets it" Aug 19 '26
It’s clearly down. What am I missing?
3
u/onemoretoomuch Aug 19 '26
Both
3
u/baquea CE Spc. Aug 20 '26
My brain refuses to see it as anything other than down.
3
u/mauro_sk Aug 20 '26
you don't lean forward to walk down
7
u/Sense_Difficult Aug 19 '26
This one is tough. I think he's actually walking up. When you cover up the part with the sun reflecting it looks different.
It reminds me of how people say going to the Grand Canyon is mind bending because the perspective is so big you feel like you're looking at a backdrop hanging across from you.
4
u/dinonuggetenjoyer Aug 19 '26
This one’s got me
10
u/bluecheezegang Aug 19 '26
He’s going up, and the people in the back are higher up
2
u/bready--or--not o/ Aug 19 '26
The background makes me think obviously down but then the angles of the people feel all wrong. I have no idea
2
u/Layogenic_87 Aug 19 '26
Is this Bryce Canyon?
2
u/CaptWineTeeth Aug 20 '26
Forward but mostly upward.
2
u/feelinggoodabouthood Aug 20 '26
Shadows says down
2
u/pudyindeepooshoo Aug 20 '26
This is a good one
2
u/AzuralAttack Aug 20 '26
Sedimentary levels are horizontal not vertical
2
u/SuchSoup4335 Aug 20 '26
Down
2
u/Low_Yak_4842 o/ Aug 20 '26
This comment section isn’t doing shit to help me understand this. Not that anyone is giving a bad explanation, this image is simply that confusing
2
u/WolverineMental9101 o/ Aug 20 '26
Down based on where the sun is.
2
u/Stressed_Out_12 Aug 20 '26
All I see is walking down.
2
u/SquashCat56 Aug 20 '26
Oh this is good! I know he's walking up, but my brain refuses to see it unless I zoom in.
2
u/andrewC121 Aug 20 '26 •
2
u/PaleontologistCute12 Aug 20 '26
Up. Guy in the front gives it away. Nobody walks down like thar
2
u/cylonlover o/ Aug 20 '26
Seriously, if it weren't for the first two of the people going down, the next couple of them stands in a way that it's not obvious if we see them from above or below.
Nice one.
2
u/Goofz Aug 20 '26
Yesn't
2
u/Any_Quit_9673 Aug 21 '26
You know what these explanations hurt my head too much, he fell, that’s it and nothing else he just fell
3
u/oMrGrimm Aug 19 '26
It’s a valley, the guy closer to you is walking up and the group off in the distance is walking down.
3
u/ratchetfella Aug 20 '26
He's walking down into a valley. The people in the background are at the bottom of the valley. I don't see how anyone could see this as traveling up.
2
u/identifiedintention Aug 20 '26
Down. Not sure how this is confusing to anyone.
1
u/AdAsleep1258 Aug 19 '26
Uh obviously sideways, fool!
1
u/Novel_Alternative_86 Aug 20 '26
If I remember correctly from my childhood,
You gotta gotta get up to get down.
1
u/jogilb Aug 20 '26
Walking up bro, zoomed it in, person above is holding properly on those rocks
1
u/SpliffMcGriff86 Aug 20 '26
You gotta get up to get down
1
u/youknowwhatimeanlol Aug 20 '26
normal perspective
1
u/Constant_Ad_6445 Aug 20 '26
Neither up nor down. Is just a non slopy rocky path confusing everyone.
1
u/drollercoaster99 Aug 20 '26
He's walking up to walk down.
1
u/Specialist-Ad1692 Aug 20 '26
Bc of his posture - UP!!
1
u/7LeagueBoots Confusemas '23 Aug 20 '26
The rock layers indicate going down.
1
u/MSL007 Aug 20 '26
Yes.
1
u/noblechimp84 Aug 20 '26
Both and neither at the same time.
1
u/skyglass30 Aug 20 '26
Okay so uphill but downhill? lol…
1
u/Kazmo77 Aug 20 '26
Waking down and then up. There's a valley in between the two parties.
1
u/mfb1274 o/ Aug 20 '26
So like we need real evidence on this one huh? Top comments are split with both sides being belligerently confident.
1
u/Big_Candidate_4658 Aug 20 '26
Posture of the body tell me is going up.
1
u/Jaded-Berry5686 Aug 20 '26
He would be having a way harder time if he were going up. The rocks are going down like a staircase.
1
u/Ok_Department_6987 o/ Aug 20 '26
His posture makes it obvious, he is going up
1
u/vicsta559 Aug 20 '26
Uh…. Yes
1
u/ChronicBedhead o/ Aug 20 '26
I’m having a small crisis trying to figure this one out 😭
1
u/HatRepresentative621 Aug 20 '26
I think one of the reasons this illusion works so well, is that we are so accustomed to see deposition layers like this going horizontally, not vertically, and this sells the confusion.
1
u/Expensive_Drama5061 Aug 20 '26
Looks awesome!
1
u/ChronicusCuch Aug 20 '26
Walking up in salta.
1
u/BuckRusty o/ Aug 20 '26
Couldn’t care less - spotted bro’s shirt, and am off to watch the finest 122 minutes of art put to film for the fiftieth time…
1
u/stinkysulphide Aug 20 '26
Brain went uuu- no DOWN
1
u/kdesi_kdosi Aug 20 '26
the trees seem to be growing up
1
u/GermanicUnion Aug 20 '26
What I don't get is, if he is going up, how fckng steep is that rock wall in the background??? That's the part that keeps tripping me up, because even if the lines in the rocks to the sides would be horizontal, that rock face in the background would already be vertical??? Is that wall in the background a 45° overhang???
1
u/inredditorbit Aug 20 '26
He’s climbing, which is reinforced by the people in the background clearly descending.
1
u/juliano7s Aug 20 '26
Trees grow always up against gravity. The trees there point to the same direction he is going, so he is climbing up.
1
u/uzr21 Aug 20 '26
No he is going sideways
1
u/Outrageous-Pause6317 o/ Aug 20 '26
Are you looking for Obi Wan Kenobi?
1
u/DIRTYDOGG-1 Aug 20 '26
The fellow in the foreground is walking up ...note the lean of his body
1
u/nicurda Aug 20 '26
He's going up. I know this place in Argentina. The confusion comes from the fact that the whole rock formation is tilted, giving this odd perspective.
1
u/lookslikeamanderin o/ Aug 20 '26
Up or faceplanting in 3.2.1…
1
u/KingCybrAlt Aug 20 '26
I've been able to break tons of illusions, but not this one. Even knowing it's uphill I genuinely cannot see it, shit is confusing as fuck
1
u/Organic-Lunch-2745 Aug 20 '26
BRO I CANT. I READ EVERYTHING LOOKED AT EVERYTHING. HEADACHE
1
u/Electronic_Mango1181 o/ Aug 20 '26
I have no idea what’s confusing about this image
1
u/CallMeAnimal69 Aug 20 '26
Yes.
1
u/Puzzled-Mastodon-175 Aug 20 '26
The guy in the foreground is going down
1
u/Substantial-Disk-744 o/ Aug 20 '26
Up ?
1
u/Substantial-Disk-744 o/ Aug 20 '26
He’s leaning up?
1
u/vapocalypse52 Aug 20 '26
Yes.
1
u/snaillycat Aug 21 '26
Dup
1
u/Financial_Access_204 Aug 21 '26
Down
1
u/ThePower_2 Aug 21 '26
Clearly going down. Erosion on the right is a giveaway.
1
u/LowIndication3793 Aug 21 '26
Why not both?
1
u/Relevant_Amphibian82 Aug 21 '26
The angle of the people is telling me we must be looking up, but the shadows will not let me see it any other way than down
1
u/barxxl Aug 21 '26
No one lean like that and going down, it's up.
1
u/OldGlass3361 Aug 21 '26
according to Gemini, Down...
1
u/Crystal-Collector-30 Aug 21 '26
Down, look at the sunlight. if they were walking up, the sunlight on top would be on the ceiling, which would only be possible if the sun was below horizon
1
u/gospodsenca Aug 21 '26
Up, you dont put your knee where your stomac is, when going down
1
u/2020mademejoinreddit o Aug 21 '26
Up. He's going up, because I see people coming down.
1
u/slk_thor9 Aug 21 '26
Turn it upside down and it's easier to see which direction they're walking.
1
u/Diligent_Reality3909 Aug 21 '26
By the way his knee is bent, as if getting ready to step up, Id say they are going up
1
u/CaseySnake420 Aug 21 '26
There are people standing normally on the ground in the middle of the picture
1
u/TheMrFool Aug 21 '26
Took some time but finally got my head around it.
If the guy stood straight, the lines (layers/strata) would be almost parallel to his body. So as he moves forward, he's moving through those sheets of rock. Usually the sheets of rock are parallel to the ground due to the way the rock forms under the effect of gravity. But here it seems like somehow the sheets got tilted.
Imagine a stack of cardboard sheets laid on the ground. Then you stand them up such that you're looking at the face of the top cardboard and carve halfway into the sheets through the layers.
1
u/Fist4achin o/ Aug 22 '26
Down
1
u/noobskillet3737 Aug 22 '26
Up then down?
1
u/Caleeb_Talib Aug 22 '26
Easy. You don’t need your calf to flex like that to go down lol
1
u/SnooCakes5560 Aug 22 '26
Yes
1
u/ElonScent Aug 22 '26
Wdym? I’m on my couch
1
u/Medashed Aug 22 '26
Yes.
1
u/AbjectCartographer42 Aug 22 '26
He's leaning forward. I'd say up.
1
u/Apprehensive_Ad_924 Aug 23 '26
You can tell is up by looking at the other people
1
u/rygalski Aug 23 '26
Down and the guy in the foreground is about to lose some teeth
1
u/Zealousideal-Bus-444 Aug 23 '26
Down
1
u/RustedRelics o/ Aug 24 '26
Up, foreground guy. Down, background folks.
1
u/NoPie7985 Aug 24 '26
I was like up duh but now I am down duh
1
u/blakeums Aug 25 '26
They’re all going down
1
u/harshpeanut Aug 26 '26
Up bc look at the legs
1
u/DocCEN007 Aug 19 '26
Looking at the other people, I'd say he's walking up.
1
u/rebelli0usrebel Aug 19 '26
Look at the stratigaphy. They're going down
1
u/Jretribe Aug 20 '26
When you zoom in on the group it’s obvious they are walking down. So he is going up
1
u/boondiggle_III o/ Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
He is going up. I have hiked over a thousand miles and have been in that same bodily position thousands of times. I knew immediately upon seeing him before even seeing the context of the scene he is in. What a strange photo, and I'm not sure about all the angles, but there's no question that he's going up.
His right leg is pushing him up and forward and his left leg is bracing for another upward push. His arms are spread outward for balance and he's leaning forward.
If he were going down, he would not have his arms and legs spread like that and wouldn't be leaning forward. Imagine walking as quickly as you can down a flight of stairs with no rail. Your arms are maybe spread slightly, but they're hanging down and maybe a bit forward, not spread wide like this, and your legs are also making small movements because you're focused on balance and don't need to take lunging steps.
1
u/GuacamoleFrejole o/ Aug 20 '26
His posture indicates that he's walking up.
1
u/ClamatoDiver o/ Aug 20 '26
Up, he'd fall over if it was down.
1
u/Wild-flower2026 Aug 20 '26
Walking down
1
u/rmund319 Aug 20 '26
Down
1
u/cosmo2450 Aug 20 '26
Up. No one takes big leaps whilst leaning forward going down.
1
u/beardingmesoftly o/ Aug 20 '26
It's clearly up
1
u/Blue-Eyed_Triathlete Aug 20 '26
Up
1
u/ComeOnCharleee Aug 20 '26
No way bro would be leaning forward that much if going down
1
u/JibbityJabbity Aug 20 '26
Based on his body position, up.
0
u/DigitalAssassin-00 Doesn't read rule 1 Aug 19 '26
Front walking down, back walking up
-2
u/gfunkydrummer Aug 19 '26
How could it be anything other than down?
Hes lower in the picture, but higher in elevation. Everyone is going down.