Cuyo
The three provinces of Cuyo
Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis share the same thirst and the same mountains, and almost nothing else. Each is travelled on its own terms.
Capital: Mendoza
Mendoza
Argentina's wine capital, an irrigated city of plane trees and acequias at the foot of the highest mountain outside Asia.
- Highlights
- Aconcagua · Valle de Uco · Luján de Cuyo · Puente del Inca · Potrerillos
- When to go
- March and April for the harvest; November to March for the high Andes.
Capital: San Juan
San Juan
Empty desert, the clearest night skies in the country and a Triassic badland where the first dinosaurs were found.
- Highlights
- Ischigualasto · Barreal · Pampa del Leoncito · Dique de Ullum · Valle de Calingasta
- When to go
- April to June and September to November; midsummer is punishing on the desert floor.
Capital: San Luis
San Luis
The gentler end of Cuyo: green sierras, river towns and a national park of red sandstone fins rising out of the scrub.
- Highlights
- Sierra de las Quijadas · Merlo · Valle del Conlara · Sierras de San Luis
- When to go
- September to December and March to May; the sierras stay mild when Mendoza bakes.