Past and Present: Malargüe Regional Museum

Next to the Tourist Office at Malargüe, on the way to the Conventions Center, we found the city's Regional Museum. It is located in the historical shell of estancia “Cañada Colorada” known by the locals as “La Orteguina” in reference to who used to be its owner, don Rufino Ortega.

The museum was created on July 9, 1971, with the aim of protecting the local heritage by preserving the roots of the people who witnessed its birth.

As a result of the constant contribution made by the community, the museum increased the number of pieces it houses today in four theme rooms, specially created for visitors to manage a better understanding.

The chambers that make up the venue include: paleontology and mining; archeology; history and folklore; and children art. The pieces displayed inside have a great scientific and museological value. The most outstanding pieces include: ammonites dating from over 150 million years ago, lithic material from the xix century, coins made in 1888 for inner circulation with the name of General Rufino Ortega printed on them, local mineral pieces, petrified logs and particularly a reconstruction of a 100-million-year-old ichthyosaurs found in the surroundings of the Witches' Cave.

The wide range of its themes and the excellent disposition of the elements shown immediately give a vision of Malargüe's past, which contains paleontological and archeological remains as well as the stamps of the primitive cultures and the conquest that have set such an important mark on this region. It is worth a visit.


Thesaurus Conventions Center

Some meters behind the museum there lies the Thesaurus Conventions and Exhibitions Center. Its name stands for "treasure" in Latin. It was specially designed to hold conferences and displays of all kinds. It has excellent acoustics which prevent sound from trespassing from one room to another.

It lies at about 3.5 meters underground so as not to interfere with the landscape. Its architecture was specially thought to make Malargüe's attractions stand out.

Various elements symbolizing the stalactites in the Witches' Cave and various structures symbolizing La Payunia, the Pincheira Castles or Llancanelo Lagoon may be observed.

The center includes three main rooms – Auditorium, Conference Room and Micro Cinema – and other auxiliary support rooms. Furthermore, it features an exhibition gallery and a restaurant where visitors may taste delicious dishes.
The site is ideal to present any kind of lecture or dissertation. We highly recommend it.