Sights in Chilecito
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Museo del Cablecarril
The fascinating Museo del Cablecarril and cablecar station documents an extraordinary engineering project that gave birth to the town of Chilecito at the beginning of the 20th century. To enable the mining of gold, silver and copper from the Sierra de Famatina, a German firm was contracted to construct a cablecar running from here, at the end of the railway line, to La Mejicana, at an altitude of 4603m, more than 3.5km above Chilecito and nearly 40km away. With nine stations, a tunnel and 262 towers, the project was completed in 1904. Men and supplies were carried to the mine, operated by a British firm, in four hours. WWI put an end to this Anglo-German cooperation and…
reviewed
-
Samay Huasi
Joaquín V González, writer and founder of the prestigious La Plata university in Buenos Aires, used Samay Huasi, a finca (ranch) 2km from Chilecito, as his country retreat. The verdant grounds counterpoint the rocky cactus hills around them. González’ bedroom is preserved, as well as scrapbook material from his life. More interesting is a collection of paintings, mostly of the area; a canvas by González’ friend Alberto Alice, Claro de Luna, stands out. Below is a somewhat depressing natural sciences, archaeology and mineralogy collection.
reviewed
-
A
Chirau-Mita
Even if you're not a fan of succulents, it's likely that you'll appreciate Chirau-Mita, an impressive cactus garden a short stroll from town, where more than 1500 species have been grown from seeds and are elegantly showcased, divided by country of origin, in an attractive hillside setting.
Entry is by informative guided tour (some English spoken), and the visit includes a handsomely presented museum, which has some stunning Patagonian fossils, prehistoric weapons and tools, and pre-Columbian ceramics.
reviewed
-
B
Museo Molino de San Francisco
Chilecito founder Don Domingo de Castro y Bazán owned this colonial flour mill, whose Museo Molino de San Francisco houses an eclectic assemblage of archaeological tools, antique arms, early colonial documents, minerals, traditional wood and leather crafts, banknotes, woodcuts, early cell telephones and paintings.
reviewed