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Matt Munro

Mendoza & the Central Andes

A long, narrow sliver of desert landscape, the Mendoza region is home to two of Argentina’s claims to fame – the Andes and wine. The city itself is lively and cosmopolitan and the surrounding area boasts hundreds of wineries offering tours – an educational (and occasionally intoxicating) way to spend an afternoon or a month.

If you can put your glass down for a minute, there’s plenty more to keep you busy. Just down the road is Cerro Aconcagua, the Americas’ highest peak and a favorite for mountain climbers the world over. A couple of ski resorts give you the chance to drop into fresh powder while Mendoza’s tour operators offer up a bewildering array of rafting, mountain-biking and paragliding options.

To the north, often-overlooked San Juan province is worth visiting for its small but important selection of wineries, bucolic traditional villages and desert landscapes in Parque Nacional el Leoncito and Parque Provincial Ischigualasto.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Mendoza & the Central Andes.

  • See

    Parque General San Martín

    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 highlights. Walk along Sarmiento/Civit out to the park and admire some of Mendoza’s finest houses on the way. Pick up a park map at the Centro de Información, just inside the impressive entry gates, which were shipped over from England and originally forged for the Turkish Sultan Hamid II. The park was designed by Carlos (Charles) Thays in 1897, who also designed Parque Sarmiento in Córdoba. Its famous Cerro de la Gloria has a monument to San Martín’s Ejército de los Andes (Army of the Andes) for its liberation of Argentina, Chile and Peru from the Spaniards. On clear days, views of the valley make the climb especially rewarding. Pathways around the lake were undergoing renovation at the time of research, closing off some of the running and cycling routes. Other facilities in the park include tennis courts, an equestrian center, golf course, kid's playgrounds, a university campus, World Cup stadium, a lackluster zoo, and a massive amphitheater where the annual wine harvest festival is held.

  • See

    Museo Fundacional

    Mendoza’s renovated Museo Fundacional protects excavations of the colonial cabildo (town council), destroyed by an earthquake in 1861. At that time, the city’s geographical focus shifted west and south to its present location. A series of small dioramas depicts Mendoza’s history, working through all of human evolution as if the city of Mendoza were the climax (maybe it was). The Ruinas de San Francisco, across the Plaza Pedro del Castillo, are the sole remaining remnants of the city prequake.

  • See

    Terraza Mirador

    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 surrounding area. There are benches, sculptures and placards identifying the buildings and natural features you can see.

  • See

    Iglesia, Convento y Basílica de San Francisco

    Many mendocinos (people from Mendoza) consider the image at this church of the Virgin of Cuyo, patron of San Martín’s Ejército de los Andes, miraculous because it survived Mendoza’s devastating 1968 earthquake. In the Virgin’s semicircular chamber, visitors leave tributes to her and to José de San Martín, the general who liberated Argentina from the Spanish. A mausoleum within the building holds the remains of San Martín’s daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, which were repatriated from France in 1951.

  • See

    Museo Histórico General San Martín

    Honors José de San Martín, the general who liberated Argentina from the Spanish and whose name graces parks, squares and streets everywhere; the Libertador is dear to Mendoza, where he resided with his family and recruited and trained his army to cross into Chile. The underwhelming and and musty museum is in a small arcade off Av San Martín.