Tour Mendoza1

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MEND OZA, SAN JUAN, LA RI OJA, CATAMARCA & CORDOBA

Atuel + Talampaya + Valle Frtil + Pampa El Leoncito + Portezuelo + La Cumbrecita

A r e a l ly e x t r a o r d i n ar y j o u r n e y t h r o u g h t h e c en t r e a n d w e st o f A r g e n t i n a. B eg i n n i n g

in Mendoza w here w e w i l l t ak e the w ine rou te , con t inue a long the Can de l A tue l

to g o to San Juan , to t he Va l le de la Luna (Moon Va l ley ) , Va l l e de Ca l ingas ta and

Pampa E l Leonc i to . La R io ja i s t he nex t des t ina t ion , w i th the Ta lampaya Na t iona l

Park . W e go u p t o Ca tam arca and t he Cues ta de l Po r tezue lo to d i scover Crdoba as

a fa rewe l l .

1 6 d a y s - 1 5 n i g h t s

9 Accommodation and breakfast - Double Room9 Transfer IN OUT APT/HTL/APT9 Regular Tours with Spanish & English Guide9 Permanent Coordination9 Food and Air tickets not included9 Guide Bilingual Spanish & EnglishI t i n e r a r y ___________________________________________________________________________________

Mendoza

Reception and transfer from Mendoza Airport to Hotel.

Know ing Mendoza

Breakfast at hotel. We dedicate half a day to visit the city of Mendoza, famous for itslegendary trees, wide sidewalks and its great order and cleanliness. Founded over 400 yearsago by the first colonists, this city offers a lot of history and culture. We will visit LaAlameda, the historical zone where Pedro del Castillo founded this large city in 1561, wheremost shops and civic life was concentrated until it disappeared with the 1861 earthquake.The town council was, in the old days, where the Foundational Area Museum is nowadays.There are still remains of what once was the San Francisco church. We continue to the new

city, post-earthquake. We visit its principal avenues, the downtown, the Plaza Independencia

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(Independence Square), the civic neighbourhood with the Government House, the LawCourts and the General San Martin Park going along the Civit Avenue, entering the parkthrough the Portones (Gates). We can enjoy the beautiful woods in the park, as well as theRosedal (rose garden) next to the lake and the clubs located in the area. We also meet theCaballitos de Marly (Marly Little Horses, replica of the ones in Paris), the Fuente de losContinentes (the Fountain of the Continents), etc. Then we climb the Cerro de La Gloria (TheGlory Mount) where there is a monument to the Ejercito Libertador (the Liberator Army) andvery near it, the Greek theatre Frank Romero Day.

Opt iona l - A long t he road t o Caraco les up t o V i l l av i cenc io

Breakfast at hotel. This road is loaded with history, as it is the route that the General Jose deSan Martin and his Ejercito Libertador (Liberator Army) took in his campaign to free Chileand Peru. Something on everyones memory is the Canota Monument. We ascend along theRoad of Caracoles, quite steep, to arrive at the Villavicencio hotel, famous for being on thelabels of the best mineral water in Argentina, although it is closed, it has a double beauty:natural, thanks to the beauty of the landscape where it is located, and beautiful from thearchitecture point of view. We go to the chapel through the dense vegetation covering thegully.

A long the Andean Range bo rde r ing the Mendoza r i ve r .

Breakfast at the hotel. This program takes us to the limit with Chile crossing the Cordillera de

los Andes (Andean Mountain Range) along the Routes 40 and 7 bordering the Mendoza river.We go by the Potrerillo Reservoir which contains the Mendoza river waters and along theUspallata Valley dividing the foothills from the mountain range. We make a short detour tovisit the Picheuta Bridge, a real milestone as General Jose de San Martin crossed it with TheAndean Army when crossing the Andes. We will visit the most imposing Andean massif, theAconcagua Mount, with its 6.962 meters over sea level and we watch the Puente del Inca(Inca Bridge), which is a natural bridge with a famous history and thermal waters. We stopat the entrance of the park to make a short walk to be able to watch the southern side of theAconcagua and enjoy the sight of the Horcones Lake. The journey continues along the Route7 and takes us to the ski resort Los Penitentes, up to the border town of Las Cuevas and withgood weather we climb to the Cristo Redentor Monument (Christ The Redeemer). We canoptionally have lunch (not included) to return later to Mendoza city.

Atue l Canyon.

Breakfast at the hotel. We set off from San Rafael towards the Cuesta de los Terneros to goto Dique Valle Grande and the Atuel river. We stop at the San Francisco de Asis lookout pointto enjoy a terrific sight of the city and the canyon. After several kilometres we enter El Nihuilwhich is impressive for the depth of its lake. We rest and may have lunch (not included). Weset off to the Atuel Canyon, to be trapped by a landscape of pure beauty, typical of theandean ecosystem, due to the erosive action of winds and water creating natural sculpturesbecoming awesome landforms, fanciful shapes of mother nature such as Museo de Cera(Wax Museum), el Lagarto (the Alligator), Los Monstruos (the Monsters), Los JardinesColgantes (The Hanging Gardens) or La Ciudad Encantada (The Haunted City), etc. Thecanyon is formed by the Atuel river, Valle Grande Reservoir and El Nihuil. We make a shortwalk along the canyon to arrive at the Valle Grande. The ones who want adventure tourism,

can enjoy rafting, rappel or a boat voyage (all these activities must be booked at

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almost 70,000 hectares, being an excellent place to observe the space. Once again in SanJuan, we will enjoy a spectacular view of the Cerro Alkzar.

From San Juan t o Va l le Fr t i l

Breakfast at the hotel. We leave towards Valle Frtil, going through the Difunta CorreaSanctuary in the town of Vallecito, San Juan. There is a great popular devotion from Catholicpeople although she was not recognized by the Catholic Church. Her followers believe in hermiracles and consider her a popular Saint, worshipped as a Goddess. We arrive at the

Ischigualasto Provincial Park to discover the Valle de la Luna and its five stations.

This park has an extension of 62,000 hectares and is 330km away from San Juan capitalcity. It boasts a considerable paleontological and geological patrimony, UNESCO declared itas Natural Heritage of Humanity in the year 2000. Ischigualasto belongs to the Triassicperiod, 300 million years ago, and it is an accurate representation of those times when thefirst mammals and dinosaurs spread. It was in these lands where one of the oldestdinosaurs, the Eoraptor Lunensis was found. Its principal landforms are: El Gusano, VallePintado, Cancha de Bochas, El Submarino, El Hongo and Los Colorados. We go back to ValleFrtil in the afternoon, where we will spend the night.

We leave th e Va l le de La Luna to go to Ta lampaya , La Rio ja

Breakfast at the hotel. We get up early to leave San Juan province and travel to La Riojaprovince to Villa Unin to visit the Talampaya National Park. Villa Unin has 6,000inhabitants and is located on a valley between the foothills of the Andes and the formidableFamatina mountain range, 60km away from the park. Talampaya is a natural reserve withsites of great archaeological-paleontological value due to the number of fossils found, suchas the Lagosuchus Talampayensis, dinosaur of the Mesozoic era. To sum up, this park is aproduct of the intense tectonic movements and wind erosion produced during millions ofyears. It has 215,000 hectares and it is famous for its incredible red rock cliffs and the windsculptured eroded figures where condors nest. Its rocks belong to the Triassic period in theMesozoic Era where the first dinousaurs pawprints are found. The return journey to SanJuan is through the majestic Cuesta de Huaco.

We cont inue a lon g La Rio ja , Ch i lec i to & La Rio j a Capi ta l

Breakfast at the hotel. We say goodbye to Villa Unin to go to La Rioja through Cuesta deMiranda, caught between the Sierras de Famatina and the Sierras de Saogasta (smallmountain ranges). These hills have one of the few good roads linking the Valle de Chilecitowith Cuyo. It is the obliged route to join Villa Unin with Chilecito. The Cuesta de Mirandashows a landscape full of different reddish shades, a path that draws a sillouette between thehills and the canyon of the river with the same name, ending in an edge road with stunningcurves and gullies. Before that, we had entered Chilecito, the second important city in LaRioja, located in the Valle Antinaco Los Colorados and hidden between the Sierras deVelasco and Famatina. It is a zone dedicated to the winery industry and the walnut and fruittrees plantations. We arrive at the capital city in the afternoon.

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La Rio ja and i t s cha rms

Breakfast at the hotel. We will discover the principal charms of La Rioja city, we will also goto the Dique Los Sauces. This capital city with the soul of a town, has a square called 25 deMayo which is the centre of the metropolis and the Government House of Greco-Roman styleadapted with an entrance hallway and courtyards with galleries. In front of the square thereis a Social Club where exhibitions take place and the San Nicols de Bari Basilica ofByzantine style. The house of the former governor Joaqun Vctor Gonzlez is very interestingto visit, too. It has a colonial style with a Medieval Castle image, built in the middle of the19th Century. There is also the Santo Domingo Temple, built in stone with an outstanding

carved carob wooden door, in 1623 by the natives. Finally there is a Museum of ReligiousArt.

Catam arca & Cuesta de l Por t ezue lo

Breakfast at the hotel. We know the city of Catamarca during the morning. From the Basilica,the Paseo de la Fe, 25 de Mayo Square, San Francisco Convent up to the Handcraft Market.We set off to the Cuesta del Portezuelo arriving at the Dique Las Piquitas in the afternoon.The Cuesta del Portezuelo is a beautiful, long and winding road which is almost 1,700m oversea level, where we will have spectacular views of the Valle de Catamarca (the CatamarcaValley) crossed by the Paclin river and the Sierra de Ambato. This downhill has beenimmortalized in the zamba Paisaje de Catamarca, sung by the famous Argentine folkloregroup: Los Chalchaleros. During the journey we enjoy different towns by the roadside.

Sal ida desde Catam arca a Crd oba

Breakfast at the Hotel. Transfer to the bus terminal in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca,to travel to the city of Cordoba. We'll have the rest of the afternoon free.

Know ing Crdoba Ci t y

Breakfast at hotel. We begin our tour around the city of Cordoba. During the excursion wecan observe the influence of colonial times in the architecture, contrasting with modern

designs. The places of interest we visit are the San Martin Square, before called Plaza Mayor,to stroll around the historical and cultural quarters of the old town, today the microcentre.Places of interest are: the Cathedral, the Cabildo, Santa Catalina Convent, the Cripta delNoviciado, the Oratorio del Obispo Mercadillo, the Compaa de Jess Church founded by SanIgnacio de Loyola located on the Jesuit Square in downtown, The Monserrat National Schoolwhich is the second oldest in Argentina, after the Inmaculada Concepcin School in Santa Fe,from 1687. It was in this school where the first printing company in the country worked. Wecontinue to the Sagrado Corazn Church which belongs to the Capuchin Priests outstandingfor its neo-gothic architecture designed by the Italian Augusto Ferrari, then we go to theNueva Crdoba neighbourhood, the Sarmiento Park, the Ciudad Universitaria (UniversityCampus), until we arrive at the centre of the metropolis. Finally, we go by the ChateauCarreras Stadium and other attractions. After finishing this circuit, we return to the hotel.

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Calam uchi t a Va l ley

Breakfast at the hotel. We set off to the Calamuchita Valley, towards the city of Alta Gracia,35km away from the provincial capital. Alta Gracia is located on the Paravachasca Valley, itis a mainly touristic site where there used to be a Jesuit ranch. Once we arrive, we visit theMuseo Estancia Jesutica (Jesuit Ranch Museum) and Viceroy Linierss House built in 1588,the characteristic Tajamar, also built by the Jesuits in 1643 as a water reserve for wateringcrops which ended forming a lake.

The journey continues on a route that goes through the mountain towns along the valley likeAnisacate, Villa La Bolsa, La Serranita, Villa Ciudad de Amrica, and following this attractivemountain road we arrive at the Dique Los Molinos (Los Molinos Dam). We continue with theitinerary to Villa General Belgrano, located on the Calamuchita Valley. The Bavarianarchitecture is typical here due to the mostly German imigration as well as Swiss, Italian andAustrian. The natural environment is really beautiful, with coniferous and oak foreststogether with streams which define the mountain landscape. We return to Crdoba City inthe afternoon.

The rout e o f th e Jesu t Estanc ias

Breakfast in the hotel. We leave early to start this trip by the Cordoba roads to the town of

Jess Mara following the same route as the old Camino Real to Alta Peru. There we visit theJesut museum, a 17th century Jesut Estancia, and go on to see the Doma and FolkloreAmphitheatre and Colonia Caroya, a town of Italian immigrants that are famous for theirmaking of sausages and preserves. Also we enter the Casa Caroya, where operated the firstmanufacturer of swords and knives that dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Atthis house stayed General Belgrano and General Jos Don de San Martn, fathers of theRepublic. After, we go to the church and the Estancia Catalina and on to the locality ofAscochinga. Continuing in the direction south we pass El Manzano, Salsipuedes and the RiverCeballos. Finally we make our way back to Crdoba.

In the middle of 2000, UNESCO recommended to name the Camino de las Estancias and laManzana Jesutica de Crdoba as Patrimony to Humanity. The monuments that we see in thistrip show the origins, progression and consolidation of the work of the Compaa de Jess in

all South America. All their architectural works are true testimony to their socio-economic,cultural and religious system that operated in Crdoba for more than 200 years. In Crdobathe works consist of La Manzana Jesutica de Crdoba in conjunction with the church of laCompaa de Jess, the Rectory of the Universidad Nacional and the Colegio Monserrat. Butin the Camino de las Estancias we find other works that form part of this system such as theEstancia Catalina, La Capilla de Candonga, La Casa del Virrey Liniers (Ex-Estancia de AltaGracia) and the Estancia de la Candelaria. The contextual systems such as these can only beseen in one place outside of Crdoba and that is in the Jesut Missions in the province ofMissiones. Their territorial system has to this day conserved its integrity and wasfundamental in the structure and maintenance of the Spanish cultural organisation in SouthAmerica.

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Crdoba

Breakfast at the Hotel. Transfer to Cordoba International Airport. End of program.

End of ou r serv ices.