San Juan

San Juan, homonymous to the province, it is an oasis in the middle of mountains ranges and desert landscapes. The variety of activities has many faces, since you can visit places like the incredible Valle Provincial Ischigualasto –known as the Valle de la Luna- and live part of the geological history of the planet.
Besides, while in San Juan you can visit vineyards and wine cellars or historic places where our leaders like Sarmiento and San Martín used to live and you can also practice the adventure tourism.
San Juan Hostel Zonda is a great place to set off and see all the landscapes of the city and surroundings, discovering the best of San Juan and its people.

Where To Go:
300 kilometers away from the city of San Juan there is a place not to be missed: the Valle de la Luna. There the landscapes eroded over millions of years making it possible to imagine the life on earth back in the Triassic period.
The full moon nights are special and to live the experience is unforgettable. The stone formations have strange names, as strange as the figures they represent, the most important ones are: “La cancha de bochas”, “La Esfinge”, “Valle Pintado”, “El gusano”, “El Submarino”, “El Hongo” and the “Barrancas coloradas”.

Other places of interest in San Juan:
Valle de Tulum: At an altitude of 600 meters above the sea level and with a temperate and dry climate, grapes are grown to produce from the traditional table wine to the most exquisite varieties, including the very fashionable syrah and the incomparable organic sparkling wines.
Casa Natal de Sarmiento: With its colonial style and adobe walls, this is the house where Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was born, it has been declared a Historical National Monument and Museum. There you can see different objects used in everyday life back in those times, like his mother’s loom, Mrs. Paula Albarracín, the fig tree, furniture, appliances, documents and newspapers.
Celda de San Martín: Gral. San Martín’s cell (room) is in the Convento Santo Domingo, where he prepared part of Chile and Alto Peru’s campaing. The place the leader used to rest remains untouched.
Museo de Ciencias Naturales: Here you will find fossil remains of the oldest dinosaurs found in the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto.
Catedral Metropolitana: A Young Church of modern architecture, inside, the ashes of eleven thousand victims of the 1944 earthquake are kept.
Dique de Ullum: More than 500 hectares of reservoir offer a picturesque view, a favorite place for the locals to practice different recreational and nautical activities.
Cuesta del Viento: Less than 200 kilometers away from the city of San Juan, the Cuesta del Viento apart from being the best place in Argentina to practice windsurf, is one of the favorite places for adventure activities, horseback riding, biking, walk and even do some rafting in the Jachal river.

How to get there:
You can reach San Juan by plane flying Lan and Aerolíneas Argentinas or overland. From Buenos Aires it is an 1113 kilometers trip taking the Ruta Nacional Nº7, Nº147 and the Nº20.

By Bus:
There are some options to travel to San Juan, among them: Andesmar, Autotransportes San Juan, Socasa, La Estrella and TAC.

Usefull Numbers:
Aerolíneas Argentinas: 0810-222-86527
Lan: 0810-999-9526
Andesmar: (+54 264) 427-5060
Autotransportes San Juan: (+54 264) 422-1105
Autotransportes Socasa: (+54 264) 422-1120
La Estrella: (+54 264) 421-4125
TAC: (+54 264) 422-1072
Vallecito: (+54 264) 422-1181