MENDOZA CENTRAL AREA AND LAVALLE´S DESERT

LAVALLE: THE MENDOZA´S DESERT
Heading North into Mendoza, you will reach Lavalle desert (32.007 inhabitants) to feel the real dryness of this area, in which water is as precious as it is for the Bedouins in the Sahara.

Even though on you way from Villa Tulumaya (capital city of Lavalle), to Costa de Araujo, the route 34 takes you through a beautiful oasis, route 142 gets into Los Altos Limpios, the amazing driest landscape in Mendoza made up by outstanding 20-metre-high sand dunes.

At Bosque Telteca, a natural reserve, you may enjoy seeing the one-hundred-year old autochthonous trees, specially the mangroves watering from the subterranean drawing cords. Within other tourist attractiopns of this area, we should mention an old chapel in San José town, and twenty kilometres far from it Laguna del Rosario, which is visited by thousands of devout people to celebrate Nuestra Señora del Rosario de las Laguas Feast, in October.

You should taste typical food from the region, such as Chivo Asado (roasted goat), chilondrón and empanada criolla (Argentina meat pie).

MENDOZA: THE CENTRAL AREA
The quiet region known as Valle del Uco is made up by the cities of Tupungato, Tunuyán, and San Carlos. The main characteristics of this area lays on its lack of big urban centres, the beauty of its landscapes on the mountains foot and the feeloing of taking full advantage of the natura and its fresh air.

Heading West on route 40, you will visit its main attractions takeing roads full of wineries, crafts from the region, and fielsds spread with grapes, olives, fruits, and vegetables. Either to accommodate or just to eat hotels, hosteries, cottages, camps, restaurants, and grill houses are available for you to taste reginal flavours.

We suggest you to forget about worrisome every day matterws and enjoy those landscapes full of history whether you choose horse riding (even Los Andes cross), agrotourism, mountain climbing, picture taking safaris, trekking, mountain bike, parapente, alaeltismod or fishing (such as Arco Iris Trout fishing at Laguna del Diamante).

Tupungato, 28.420 inhabitants. Its name comes from a Quechua expression meaning "Stars observation terrace". One of its main attractins is the 70 thousand hectare Provincial Park, which is called Cerro Tupungato (6800 mts), to which you reach riding a mule through Las Tunas ravine. You should also visit Glaciar Sur (South Glacier), a 200 metre glacial wall and the Reserva Natural del Cóndor (Natural Reserve for Condors) and Nuestra Señora del Socorro Church.

Tunuyán, 42.277 inhabitans, a Mapuche expression meaning "Thundering land". Here you may visit El Manzano Histórico, place where San Martín was received back from Perú, and Manantiales, designed as the fourth ski centre in Mendoza.

San Carlos (27.353 inhabitants). If you are travelling from December to February, you should visit Laguna del Diamante (The Diamong Lagoon), 3300 metres above sea level on the foot of Maipo Volcano, 5223 mts, which offers you outstanding landscapes as web as a wide range of sports to practice. Once in the city, you may visit El Fuerte de San Carlos (San Carlos Fort) (1770), near which San Martín received support from Ñacuñán on his heroic deeds. You may also enjoy visiting the city museum.

DAY 1 - Arrival to Mendoza Airport and transfer to hotel. 03 nts of accommodation with breakfast

DAY 2 - Wineries Tour

DAY 3 - Excursion to enjoy the High Andes and the Aconcagua Mount

DAY 4 - Transfer to airport

This is a basic program to visit Salta and the Andes area. Please visit our tour list to see more tours combining this area and others place in Argentina and Chile

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