Must-see attractions in Mendoza & the Central Andes

  • Parque Provincial Aconcagua

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    The region's most famous park is Parque Provincial Aconcagua, home of 6962m (22,841ft) Cerro Aconcagua, the highest peak outside the Himalayas and a…

  • The Reserva Provincial La Payunia in Argentina.

    Parque Provincial Payunia

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Just over 200km south of Malargüe on the RN 40, the spectacular Parque Provincial Payunia is a 4500-sq-km reserve with a higher concentration of volcanic…

  • Parque General San Martín

    Mendoza

    Walking along the lakeshore and snoozing in the shade of the rose garden in this beautiful 420-hectare park is a great way to enjoy one of the city’s…

  • Las Marianas

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    One of the prettiest wineries in the region, this one was built in 1922, abandoned in 1950 and reinstated in 1999. The main building is gorgeous, with…

  • Tupungato volcano in Argentina.

    Parque Provincial Volcán Tupungato

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Tupungato (6650m) is an impressive volcano, partly covered by snowfields and glaciers, and serious climbers consider the mountain a far more challenging,…

  • Statue of Christ (Cristo Redentor de los Andes) near mountain pass Paso Los Libertadores, Argentina.

    Cristo Redentor

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    This monument tops a high altitude pass, once occupied by a rail line linking Argentina and Chile, offering spectacular Andean vistas. The dirt and gravel…

  • Parque Provincial Ischigualasto

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    A spectacular, if desolate, landscape of otherworldly rock formations, dinosaur remains and sedimentary mountain ranges. Drivers join convoys on slow…

  • Parque Nacional El Leoncito

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    The 76-sq-km Parque Nacional El Leoncito occupies a former estancia (ranch) 22km south of Barreal. The landscape is typical of the Andean precordillera…

  • Shrine of Difunta Correa

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Since the 1940s, this shrine, once a simple cross, has metastasized into a village with basic hotels, restaurants and shops, all dedicated to the legend…

  • Reserva Natural Villavicencio

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Popular with day-tripping mendocinos, this nature reserve occupying a spectacular mountain setting only an hour north of Mendoza is also the origin of…

  • Museo Fundacional

    Mendoza

    Mendoza’s renovated Museo Fundacional protects excavations of the colonial cabildo (town council), destroyed by an earthquake in 1861. At that time, the…

  • Caverna de Las Brujas

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Caverna de Las Brujas is a magical limestone cave on Cerro Moncol, 72km south of Malargüe and 8km north of Bardas Blancas along RN 40. Its name means …

  • Museo de Vino Santiago Graffigna

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Museo de Vino Santiago Graffigna is a wine museum housed in a handsome brick building, a reconstruction of what the winery looked like before the 1944…

  • Casa Natal de Sarmiento

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Casa Natal de Sarmiento is named for Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, whose prolific writing as a politician, diplomat, educator and journalist made him a…

  • Puente del Inca

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Naturally occurring stone bridge, once used by Inca to cross the Río de las Cuevas. The ruins of an old spa lie eerily beneath the bridge, which combined…

  • Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    This desert observatory in the Parque Nacional El Leoncito is open for daytime visitors. It's best, of course, to visit for nighttime stargazing; contact…

  • Fabril Alto Verde

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    The Fabril Alto Verde is a big, state-of-the-art winery that sells 90% of its wine for export; tours are in English or Spanish and come accompanied by a…

  • Terraza Mirador

    Mendoza

    A good place to orient yourself is the Terraza Mirador, which is the rooftop terrace at City Hall, offering panoramic views of the city and the…

  • Champañera Miguel Mas

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    This small winery makes some of the country’s only organic sparkling wine, as well as other varieties. The whole process – apart from inserting the cork…

  • Viñas de Segisa

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    This stately old winery has a museum feel. The tour of the underground cellar complex is excellent and tastings are generous. This is one of the few…

  • Planetarium

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Malargüe’s remote location makes it a great spot for stargazing, and this Planetarium is an excellent, state-of-the-art complex featuring some freaky…

  • Cerro Tunduqueral

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    An easy 8km walk (or an easier drive) north of town brings you to Cerro Tunduqueral, where you’ll find sweeping views and Inca rock carvings; Seven Years…

  • Laguna Llancancelo

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Lying within its namesake fauna reserve about 60km southeast of Malargüe, Laguna Llancancelo is a high mountain lake visited by more than 100 bird species…

  • Museo Histórico General San Martín

    Mendoza

    Honors José de San Martín, the general who liberated Argentina from the Spanish and whose name graces parks, squares and streets everywhere; the…

  • Museo Unión Vecinal Calingasta

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    Calingasta’s small archaeological museum, 100m from the main plaza, has one of several 500-year-old mummies found at an indigenous cemetery at Cerro El…

  • Museo Las Bóvedas

    Mendoza & the Central Andes

    A kilometer north of the highway junction in Uspallata, a signed lateral leads to ruins and a museum at the Museo Las Bóvedas, a smelting site since pre…