Complejo Turístico Cerro de Oro

With all that wilderness around you, it’s not hard to see what the main attraction of San Luis province is. Take a 15-minute drive to the trails and views and wildlife-spotting opps of Salto del Tabaquillo; it’s a similar distance to the nature reserve of Mogote Bayo, prime territory for horse-riding and condor watching. Rock-climbers and canyoners will relish the uphill challenge of Pasos Malos, also 15 minutes, rewarded by a roaring mountain waterfall at the top. If you want to get truly high up, Carpintería, a 10-minute drive away is the starting point for paragliding and hang gliding excursions into the mountains. For fishing, it’s a quarter-hour trip to the waters of the Río de los Molles; for bigger thrills and fish, those in the know make for the dam at Potrero de los Funes (two hours and 15 minutes) in search of trout and pejerrey. The town of Villa de Merlo is well-stocked with eateries, bars and shops, but it’s more than a filling station: famed for its dry and temperate microclimate, Merlo's centre contains many early colonial buildings and has history as a hang-out for poets and painters. To learn more about the pre-colonial period, it’s a 10-minute trip to Yucat Parque Tematico and its reconstruction of an indigenous village; a 20-minute drive to El Algarrobo Abuelo takes you back even further: it's a small park with an 1,800 year-old carob tree.