Mendoza is the home of the mighty Acouncagua, the tallest mountain on Earth after the Himalayas mountain range.

You will enjoy a scenic drive along the National route 7 (the road to Chile), making stops at the most important highlights.

This route winds across valleys, flat lowlands, streams, rivers, foothills and the highest peaks of the Cordillera de los Andes Mountain Range.

Soon after following the route that skirts the winding course of the Mendoza river, you will leave the countryside behind in order to enter the pre-mountain range area.

The first stop will be in Potrerillos, a small mountain town with an unbeatable view of the Potrerillos dam which forms a breathtaking artificial lake. The following section of the route leads to Uspallata, framed by mountainous landscapes with changing colours, filled with various geological formations and many tunnels on the road. The famous film ‘Seven years in Tibet’ was filmed in this valley.

The trip continues until you reach Puente del Inca. This is a natural geological bridge formation that crosses the Rio Las Cuevas River and which has been declared a Natural Monument. It was formed by thermal erosion caused by the sulphurous waters of the rive, and its sediment gives it a peculiar ochre, reddish yellow and orange colouration.

If we cross the Puente del Inca towards the mountain range, we can see three natural pools with thermal waters at a temperature between 33 °C and 39 °C, ideal for therapeutic treatments. The excellent Hotel Puente del Inca was built here in 1925, and it was destroyed by a landslide in 1965. From that disaster, only La Capilla remains, a chapel built at the foot of the slope in 1902, and which has been reconstructed on different occasions due to the avalanches it has withstood in this place.

We´ll enter the stunning Horcones Lagoon and to the Provincial Park for a short trekking to a viewpoint which allows us to see the Aconcagua mountain in all its splendor. The Aconcagua stands at 22,841 feet (6,962 meters) above sea level . Prepare your cameras!

The Aconcagua, Watchtower or Stone Sentinel, translated from a quechua word, shows imposing slopes that change colour, a rocky texture, snow-capped summits, enormous icicles, big moraines, subterranean rivers, streams, hanging glaciers, and above all, perpetual snow.

Only from January to March and depending on weather conditions we might be able to drive to the Cristo Redentor. This is a bronze sculpture approximately 25 feet (eight meters) tall and weighing six tons, located at 12725 feet (4200 meters) above sea level, which marks the border between Argentina and Chile. The monument was inaugurated in the year 1904. It was declared the First International Monument for Peace between both countries.

In the late afternoon we return to the city.

Difficulty: low

Duration: full day (starts early morning and ends late afternoon). This is a long tour covering a total of about 262 miles (420 kilometers).

Guide: group English/Spanish speaking guide

Transfer: group vehicle