Secrets of the Andes HIDDEN
9 Days / 8 Nights Mendoza / San Rafael / Malargue
TBK 01505 What’s included • Needed transfers • Accommodation: 8 nights Mendoza (1) - San Rafael (2) Malargue (3) - Uco Valley (2) • Tours: Mendoza: Horseback riding at sunset - Atuel Canyon - La Payunia - Malacara Volcano and Llancanelo Lagoon • Meals: 8 breakfasts - 5 lunches 5 dinners
Day 1 Mendoza. D Arrival at the airport and transfer to the selected hotel. In the afternoon, we go horseback riding through places of outstanding beauty. After an hour and a half, we return to the base, where we enjoy a Creole dinner accompanied by Mendoza wine. At the end, we return to the city.
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Day 2 Mendoza / San Rafael. B L D Departure on Route 40 towards the south, passing through the wine regions of Tunuyan and San Carlos. On the way we stop for lunch at the Piedra infinita winery, awarded as one of the best in the world. We continue to San Rafael to stay in a hotel surrounded by vineyards with a winery at 800 meters above sea level. Travelled distance: 250 km (155 miles) Travel time: 5 hours
Day 3 San Rafael. B L D Today we explore the Atuel Canyon, a true geological marvel millions of years old where the wind and waters of the Atuel River carved different figures. During the tour it is possible to observe areas where you can do activities such as mountain biking, condor
watching, mountaineering, hiking, trekking, among others.
Travelled distance: 305 km (190 miles) Travel time: 7 hours
Travelled distance: 172 km (107 miles) Travel time: 6 hours
Day 5 Malargue. B L Today we explore the Payunia Reserve, a vast volcanic region located at the foothills of the Mendoza mountain range, which geology makes it unique in the world. La Payunia is an area that had an intense volcanic activity in remote times. Volcanoes, fragmented lava, black sand (of basaltic origin), fields of “bombs” (material in liquid or creamy state, ejected by the volcano and then hardened, with curious shapes), bushes and pastures give us the possibility to imagine how the land was in its beginnings. During the tour, on board the 4x4, we will discover Malacara Volcano, Campo de Bombas Pyroclasticas, Pampas Negras, Horseshoe Volcano and
Day 4 San Rafael / Malargue. B L Taking Route 140 we join Route 40 to continue to El Sosneado and through a provincial route we reach the Sosneado Lagoon, located at 2100 meters above sea level. As we continue, we observe Cerro Sosneado, an extinct “volcano” from the Cenozoic Era and one of the highest peaks located in the Southern Hemisphere. A few kms further on and at 2,176 m above sea level, we find the ruins of a Hotel, where we can appreciate the remains of the building and the thermal water pools. We return to Route 40 to continue to Malargue City located at the foothills of the mountain range
