San Luis (province, Argentina)

San Luis is a province in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It is located in the western centre of the country. The north is part of the Sierras Pampeanas and is characterized by mountain ranges up to 2,500 m high. The south, on the other hand, is flat and belongs to the dry pampa, which is a barren steppe here.

Cities

 * — the capital, with 150,000 inhabitants. The city has a modern character with some old buildings.
 * — a planned city founded in 2004 north of San Luis with a university, a football stadium, and a largely true-to-original replica of the Cabildo from Buenos Aires in the style of the early 19th century that was built here
 * — a tourist town of 15,000 inhabitants, in the far north, on the wild and romantic mountain range of the Sierra de los Comechingones near the highest mountains in the province
 * — a city of 100,000 inhabitants, in the east, well-known metropolis of folklore music

Other destinations

 * — a traditional summer area of ​​the province, surrounded by hills, gardens, parks, orchards and abundant vegetation
 * — a rough, dry area with strange, reddish colored rock formations is protected here. The park is located in the sparsely populated northwest of the province.

Understand
San Luis consists of two distinctly different parts, in the center and east the border runs roughly along the Río Quinto, the most important river in the region.
 * Pampas in the south
 * Sierra de San Luis in the north

San Luis is ideal for travelers who like to stay away from the destinations of mass tourism. The Sierra de San Luis offers a similar landscape to the much better known Sierras de Córdoba, only more pristine and rougher. Numerous reservoirs and mountain rivers invite you to swim in summer. Most of the small towns in the mountain regions, which are interesting for tourists, have hardly been discovered yet, only in Merlo and some places in the vicinity of the provincial capital (especially Trapiche, El Volcán and Potrero de los Funes ) it can get a bit crowded in summer. The climate in Merlo is known throughout Argentina for its high oxygen content.

Talk
The variant of Spanish spoken in San Luis is similar to that of Córdoba and seems more sung than Spanish from Buenos Aires. Indigenous languages ​​are all but extinct in the region.

Climate
The climate is warm temperate, with hot, relatively humid summers and cool, very dry and sunny winters. In the sierras it can sometimes snow, but it is not enough for winter sports.

Get in
The central part of San Luis has good road and bus connections to all parts of the country thanks to its location on the important transport axis between Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. The two small airports of San Luis and Villa Mercedes offer connections to Buenos Aires.

Merlo also has a (completely oversized) airport, Valle del Conlara airport, which has a few scheduled flights on LADe from Buenies Aires Aeroparque Villa Mercedes, San Luis  (as of Aug 2021).

While passenger rail services are being revived in Argentina, San Luis province is still not well served. As of late 2022, there is a once-weekly train from Buenos Aires to the small town of Justo Daract, near the western border with Córdoba.

See
In San Luis you will mainly find natural sights such as the Sierra de Las Quijadas National Park, the Potrero de los Funes reservoir, the gold mining town of Carolina and, above all, the rugged, steep mountain range Sierra de los Comechingones around Merlo. In San Luis and Villa Mercedes you can also visit some historical buildings.

Do
Hiking, mountaineering and paragliding can be found in the area around Merlo. Mountain biking is also possible there, but only for people in good physical condition because of the very steep slopes. In the centrally located Sierra de San Luis, the topography is a little flatter.

Eat
A specialty of the province is goat meat, which is served grilled (chivo a las brasas).

Drink
San Luis and Villa Mercedes have comparatively active cultural and music scenes, as well as several discos and nightclubs. In summer, the otherwise quiet Merlo comes to life.

Stay safe
San Luis is a safe province with a low crime rate and no particular health hazards.