Malargüe (Mendoza)
From Wikitravel
Malargüe [1] is a town in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina. It is located on National Route 40, but it doesn't get much traffic because the road south of Malargüe is in bad condition. Some tourist vans ply this route, though, and if you have your own car you can take this route to Bariloche.
Malargüe is the nearest town to the ski resort of Las Leñas. In the winter, skiers often stay in Malargüe because hotel rates are lower there. Also, nearly all of the hotels in Malargüe can provide their guests with a heavy discount on ski passes for Las Leñas.
Malargüe is also the home of world's largest cosmic ray observatory, Pierre Auger.
[edit] Get in
Malargüe has an airport, but flights are only available for guests of one of the hotels in Las Leñas. Other airport options are San Rafael and Mendoza.
Buses are available to/from San Rafael (2 hours), and Mendoza (5 to 6 hours). Most buses from Mendoza make a stop in San Rafael, however the minibus operated by Viento Sur does not as it takes a shortcut.
A website with departure times for buses is maintained by the local tourist organization at [2].
[edit] Get around
Malargüe is small enough to get around on foot. Taxis are available for US$ 1-2 for any destination within town.
[edit][add listing] See
The cosmic ray observatory Pierre Auger has a visiting hour at 17:00 (weekdays)
[edit][add listing] Do
In the city, there is the Molino Rufino Ortega, an old mill next the Parque de Ayer and the small museum featuring trilobites and other local archeological finds.
Tours can be booked to see the caves Caverna de las Brujas, a castle-shaped mountain called Castillos de Pincheira, and a lake featuring flamingos, Laguna Llancanelo. Other natural features are the Pozo de las Animas, a large pair of sinkholes, the Laguna Niña Encantada, a small clear pool fed by streams in the foothills of the Andes. Less accessible is Valle Hermoso, a large picturesque valley to the northwest of Malargue.
Nearby are many extinct volcanic cones, the largest being Cerro Diamante to the north. To the south is the Reserva la Payunia containing many volcanoes and lava flows.
[edit][add listing] Buy
[edit][add listing] Eat
There are many restaurants and cafes in Malargue. Most of the big hotels have attached restaurants. Steaks are good value, seen on the menu as bife de lomo or bife de chorizo. Also available are chicken and goat. Vegetarians may have few choices, some of the pasta dishes can be had without meat.
Outside of town to the south is a trout hatchery called Cuyam-co which has an attached restaurant. They serve trout cooked in foil with vegetables which is quite good.
[edit][add listing] Drink
Most all the restaurants will serve alcohol. The local beer is Andes, with Quilmes and Heineken also available. A drink that is popular throughout Argentina is Fernet Branca and Coca cola.
[edit][add listing] Sleep
There are between 10 and 20 hotels in Malargüe, as well as a large number of cabins. There is an eco-hostel by Hostelling International, which is out of town. Popular hotels are Microtel (***), Rio Grande (***), El Cisne (**) and Turismo (**).
[edit] Get out
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