Tourism in San Juan
Valle de la Luna, Province of San Juan - Photo: Marcelo Sola
The Province of San Juan boasts incredible scenes that lure tourists. One outstanding destination is Ischigualasto Provincial Park, popularly known as the Valley of the Moon. It features a highly unusual geography in which the relief formations adopt shapes never seen before, ranging from all grey to ocher hues.
Cradle of good well-known wines, countless wineries have been settled throughout San Juan. Together with Mendoza, they are part of the region known as Cuyo and in charge of providing this beverage to all points in Argentina.
The Sunshine National Festival is celebrated in San Juan in February. Tribute is paid to everyone who participates in the winegrowing process, pioneers and winemakers. It all ends with the famous Grape Harvest and a popular festival joined by all denizens of San Juan.
Both the capital city and most small urban centers enjoy a similar physiognomy in which architectural features combine the colonial and modern styles. The streets and avenues are ample and there are several public spaces where the vegetation and the tress are the main protagonists.
The infinite landscapes of San Juan and its exquisite geographical nooks attract not only tourists but also the inhabitants of the province, who every long weekend choose to visit a different destination within this territory in search of quietness and rest. As a result, in the last few years the accommodation offer in the areas close to the reservoirs and natural water bodies in this fine-looking region has increased significantly.
Featured Attractions
Valle de la Luna
Ischigualasto Provincial Park is located about 300 kilometers away from the capital of San Juan. It is better known as Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). This strange clay formation, with a great variety of hues, shapes and different layers of mineral and sediments, provides a glimpse of the Earth evolution in the Triassic Period.
No one would have thought that a huge lake surrounded by lush vegetation, where a great variety of plants grew and an incredible amount of animals prospered, would be a desert today with very little rain, strong winds and high temperatures.
Bodegas de San Juan
On the South of the Province of San Juan is the Tulum Valley, one of the most important areas in the viticultural industry. With dry and template weather and a height of 600 meters, a great variety of wines is made; from table wines to fine and liquor-like wines. Its alluvial sandy and clayish permeable soils are ideal for the practice of viticulture.
The noble grape that has best adapted to the area is the Syrah, managing a great aromatic concentration and a fleshy body. Future crops will reflect the potential of these lands.
Parque Nacional El Leoncito
As the clear sky blue is perpetuated in a light that seems unattainable and the nights multiply their stars, El Leoncito National Park works in silence to ensure the protection of a unique natural environment.
Just 35 kilometers away from the picturesque village called Barreal, the shade of ancient poplar tree groves and the murmur of the water in the irrigation ditches welcome visitors who come along in search of a promised sky. Immersed amidst the mountains, two worldwide known astronomic observatories -Cesco and Casleo- open up to visitors and reveal the secrets of the universe.