Andes Day Trip from Mendoza Including Aconcagua, Uspallata and Puente del Inca
Mendoza, Argentina
Rating: 
Trip Type: Day Trips
Duration: 12 hours
Experience the best of the Mendoza Province’s Andes region on this day trip that will take you along part of the Pan-American Highway toward the Chilean border. With an experienced guide, you’ll make your way to the highest mountain in both North and South America – Aconcagua – where you'll visit a lookout point for awesome photo ops. Stop along the way at various historical and cultural sites including Puente del Inca, Potrerillos and Las Cuevas. It’s a day of breathtaking natural scenery that can only be found in the Andes!
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Experience the best of the Mendoza Province’s Andes region on this day trip that will take you along part of the Pan-American Highway toward the Chilean border. With an experienced guide, you’ll make your way to the highest mountain in both North and South America – Aconcagua – where you'll visit a lookout point for awesome photo ops. Stop along the way at various historical and cultural sites including Puente del Inca, Potrerillos and Las Cuevas. It’s a day of breathtaking natural scenery that can only be found in the Andes!
Your day trip to the Andes starts with pickup at your Mendoza hotel by comfy, air-conditioned coach. With your guide, head west from the city via Route 7, part of the Pan-American Highway, toward the Chilean border, approximately 130 miles (200 km) away.
Gaze out the window and watch the landscape change from urban sprawl to rolling vineyards to mountain peaks as you make your way along the highway, stopping at several points of interest. Stop first in Potrerillos, on the dammed lake of Embalse de Potrerillos. Here you can stretch your legs, grab some breakfast or a snack if you wish (own expense) and admire the snow-capped mountaintops you’re nearing!
Your next stop is Uspallata, a small mountain town that boasts more scenic alpine views. Get something to eat here (own expense) if you didn’t before – or if you’re still hungry! – and get ready to witness the highway scenery become more and more dramatic as you keep going west.
Continue about an hour to Puente del Inca, a natural rock bridge over the Vacas River, a Mendoza River tributary. The natural wonder, once visited by Charles Darwin, makes for some fantastic photos with its swirl of colored rock, so this is a good time to break out the camera! You’ll also visit the small community nearby to have lunch (own expense) and browse some local handmade goods if you’re interested.
Back on the coach, keep heading west toward Las Cuevas, on the border with Chile, and then turn off the highway for Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas at approximately 22,840 feet (6,960 meters). Your driver will take you to a prime lookout location so you can snap photos and enjoy the spectacular view.
Your last point of interest is Picheuta, a site of ruins by the indigenous Huarpe people, who lived in this part of Argentina from the 5th century BC.
The trip back to Mendoza is the same way you came, so relax as you admire the view from the other direction. You’ll be back at your hotel between 6:30 and 7pm.
Your day trip to the Andes starts with pickup at your Mendoza hotel by comfy, air-conditioned coach. With your guide, head west from the city via Route 7, part of the Pan-American Highway, toward the Chilean border, approximately 130 miles (200 km) away.
Gaze out the window and watch the landscape change from urban sprawl to rolling vineyards to mountain peaks as you make your way along the highway, stopping at several points of interest. Stop first in Potrerillos, on the dammed lake of Embalse de Potrerillos. Here you can stretch your legs, grab some breakfast or a snack if you wish (own expense) and admire the snow-capped mountaintops you’re nearing!
Your next stop is Uspallata, a small mountain town that boasts more scenic alpine views. Get something to eat here (own expense) if you didn’t before – or if you’re still hungry! – and get ready to witness the highway scenery become more and more dramatic as you keep going west.
Continue about an hour to Puente del Inca, a natural rock bridge over the Vacas River, a Mendoza River tributary. The natural wonder, once visited by Charles Darwin, makes for some fantastic photos with its swirl of colored rock, so this is a good time to break out the camera! You’ll also visit the small community nearby to have lunch (own expense) and browse some local handmade goods if you’re interested.
Back on the coach, keep heading west toward Las Cuevas, on the border with Chile, and then turn off the highway for Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas at approximately 22,840 feet (6,960 meters). Your driver will take you to a prime lookout location so you can snap photos and enjoy the spectacular view.
Your last point of interest is Picheuta, a site of ruins by the indigenous Huarpe people, who lived in this part of Argentina from the 5th century BC.
The trip back to Mendoza is the same way you came, so relax as you admire the view from the other direction. You’ll be back at your hotel between 6:30 and 7pm.
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