Cordoba

WHAT TO VISIT

It was not in vain that a number of religious orders settled in Córdoba in its early years. They have left their mark in the form of numerous colonial buildings, which are the most valuable of the city’s treasures:
The Cathedral, an ambitious 17th century project. Work started in 1687, and was not completed until 1914. it has a notable wooden dome an a main altar made entirely of silver. Renaissance, baroque and romantic styles all merge in this building, which fronts onto the Plaza San Martín. There right on the road, a drawing on mosaics reproduces the front of the Cathedral.
The Cabildo, (Town Hall), also in the Plaza San Martín and –just like the Cathedral- reproduced on the road, has a fifteen-arched preserved market. In classical style, it is one of the last cabildos that can be admired anywhere in the country and is currently the subject of an important restoration project.
The convent of the Company of Jesus and its notable Domestic Chapel are part of the so-called Manzana de las Luces. The chapel is important for its roof of guadua bound with thin strips of leather and adorned with paintings taken from vegetables of the region.
Córdoba University Cloisters, Monserrat College, the churches of San Francisco and San Roque ; the convent of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns; the tree monasteries of the Franciscan, Dominican, and Our lady of Mercy monks, and the convent of Santa Catalina and San José, together known as The Teresas, are just some of the many examples of 17th and 18th century religious architecture.
The Juan de Tejeda Museum of Religious Art is to be found in the Carmelite Convent. Further important collections are in the Fray José de San Alberto Religious Museum and the Deán Funes Ecclesiastical Museum.
In what was the residence of the first governor, the Marquis of Sobremonte, a fine old 18th century house, there is today the Provincial Historical Museum. Popularly known as the Marquis’ House, this contains important collections of historical object and documents, as well as fine decorated vaults and typical pathways adorned with tiny stones extracted from river beds, which should not be missed.
But not everything is a relic of colonial architecture or an example of religious art. Córdoba has its Contemporary Art Centre which is housed in a elegant old 19th century house in the Chateau Carreras.
The Municipal Museum of Fine Arts occupies an elegant French-style country house and as important collections by Córdoba artists, as has the Emilio Caraffa Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, located in Sarmiento Park.
To round off the museum visits, don’t forget the Museums of Mineralogy; Zoology; Medicine, Meteorology and Anthropology. When added to the art and religious ones, this makes a total of twenty two museums, which cater for a wide range of different interests.
There are other architectural curiosities that should not be forgotten as you wander around Códoba. The Chalet de Hierro (Iron Chalet) is the only work of its kind anywhere in Latin America, and was designed by the engineer Eiffel, the builder of the famous tower in Paris. There is also the Casa Giratoria (Rotating House), at the intersection of Paraná and San Lorenzo Streets, which was completed in 1951 and was a product of the imaginative mind of an immigrant of Syrian origin called Abdón Sahade. Built from everyday materials, it is extremely solid and can even support a second floor, it is 51 m in circumference and is moved by two thee-horsepower motors. It is supported above a platform on pillars with wheels at the top; an electric key makes it rotate in either direction at a speed of one metre per minute, thereby completing one rotation in 55 minutes. It is currently inhabited by one of the builder’s grandsons, who allows visitors to enter.
If you are travelling with children or are a nature lover, then you shouldn’t miss Sarmiento Park, a vast green expanse which borders onto the sports fields of the National University of Córdoba. It has a beautiful wood and delightful sport in which to linger. Inside the park are the Zoological gardens, laid out over a large ravine where the natural elements have been used to the best advantage to provide the animals with a suitable habitat.
In the same park you will find the open-air Greek Theatre, which respects the structure of ancient Greek Theatres, and where during the summer interesting musical performances are held.
Córdoba is a city you should walk though, it is a pleasure to wander though its streets and discover its architectural contrast. The French, or Italian-style country houses, which typify Argentinian architecture of the second half of the nineteenth country stand side by side with austere baronial mansions that still retain their mysterious tiled courtyards with the well in the centre, and their shady porticoes. Alternating with these are bold examples of modem architecture, with showy glass and brick frontages.
Many of the colonial buildings are to be found in the pedestrianised area between Obispo Trejo, Rivera Indarte, Deán Funes, 9 de July and 25 May Streets.
Córdoba was one of the first cities in Argentina to have pedestrianised streets, and what is more, these are wonderful gardens full of flowerbeds that are unbelievably clean and well-kept. In this sector the colonial architecture blends happily with modern commercial galleries which cross from street to street and attractive cafes that cheerfully set up their tables with sunshades in the open air. Here it is impossible not to be taken in by the charm, by the desire to sit down at one of the tables and enjoy the view of a particular bell tower, a curious shop window, the exquisite balcony on some shop, or simply to watch the people walking leisurely by.

Shopping


The pedestrian zone is where the most elegant shops are to be found and here you can find clothing, perfumes and articles for the home. All with splendis windows display, and alternating with pastry shops, restaurants and pubs. As with any city in a permanent state of change. Córdoba has experienced the shopping centre phenomenon, and there are several of these, all extremely modern and offering a complete range of goods. Everywhere in the central area, and especially in the old part, there are shops offering articles of a regional nature, and you can find good examples of elaborate silverwork, ponchos and leather goods, including shoes and sandals. And, of course, mate gourds and associated equipment abound, and to suit all tastes.


Places of interest in the surrounding area


Punilla Valley

The city of Córdoba is the gateway to this valley, so named because its topography is similar to that of the “puna” plateau, and it makes a very interesting tour. Here can be found many of the attractions of the province. The journey starts by taking the motorway that leads to Carlos Paz, one of the most important holiday resorts in the country, situated on San Roque Lake, and a mere 34 km from the provincial capital. Here are to be found a whole range of excellent hotel facilities, recreation centres, restaurants, tearooms and pastry shops, as well as discotheques and pubs aplenty. The lake, a sheet of water that was formed when the primitive San Roque dam was built in 1890, gave rise to the town, which was founded in 1914. Today it is a pretty place with over 60.000 inhabitants, whose life depends on the lake, which is suitable for all kinds of water sport. If you are looking for somewhere a little less congested, especially in summer, then “La Villa”, as the people of Córdoba like to call it, is also the starting point for visiting the small and extremely beautiful villages that abound in the valley. If you follow route 38 in a northerly direction, in rapid succession you come to Bialet Masse, Cosquín –which is considered to be the national folklore capital in view of the fact that during the summer the country’s most important folk festival is held there –Valle Hermoso, La Falda, Villa Giandino, La Cumbre, Los Cocos and Capilla del Monte (at the foot of Uritorco Hill, the highest point in the Sierras Chicas, it is a resort centre with mineral springs). Near here is the legendary Ongamira Valley, a strange landscape of caves with numerous remains indicating that it was once inhabited by primitive men very different from the indigenous tribes that the Spaniards found when they arrived. It is one of the richest archaeological sites in the country, and students have estimated that it dates back about 5000 years from the relics that have been found there.


Alta Gracia – Villa General Belgrano

This Circuit is to the south of the provincial capital, leaving by the motorway and then taking route 45. First, you come to Alta Gracia, a town with a history; it was the summer resort of the Viceroys, and the house where Viceroy Sobremonte used to spend the summer can still be seen. There are also important buildings constructed by the Jesuits, since the city was originally a Jesuit hacienda. The ruins of the writer Enrique Larreta’s estate can also be visited, and the house of the composer Manuel de Falla, which has been converted into a museum.
Nearby, the Astronomical Observatory the Satellite Communications Station, and Los Molinos Dam are all worth a visit before you continue your journey to the delightful Villa General Belgrano. This was founded by central European immigrants who made it into a veritable Alpine enclave in the Córdoba Hills. It contains typical chalets, and also Archaeological and Carriage Museums. Each year it also hosts a Beer Festival and a Chocolate Festival, which attract many tourist, and a Tyrolean Carnival. Of course, tearooms abound, offering typically-German confectionery delicacies, for which it as become famous. From Villa General Belgrano those with a sweet tooth can make a short trip to another Alpine Village, La cumbrecita, which has only 80 permanent inhabitants, and where delicious cakes and tarts are sold.


The history Trail

The Mule Trail, formerly the Camino Real or Royal Road, which used to connect the towns of Upper Peru and the North west whit the coast and Buenos Aires, can be followed in a northerly direction from Córdoba. This trail leads to Ascochinga, 64 km. from the provincial capital, but without straying too far from it you can enjoy a number of small paradises. Villa Allende and Unquillo are two suburban areas of Córdoba itself that offer surprisingly-attractive old mansions set in shady parks that are decidedly rural in appearance. From Unquillo, or via the Pajas Blancas road (which also leads no the airport), Río Ceballos can be reached. This is barely 34 km away from the city. It was founded in 1830 by Juan de Ceballos, who laid it out along the course of the river which today bears his name, and this is why it has such attractive, winding streets. Not to be missed in this small town situated 679 m above sea level is La Quebrada Park, a nature reserve with an extremely rich ecosystem known as Chaco Serrano, and an extensive variety of fauna and flora including rare species like the puma, grey fox, wild pig and grey deer.
La Quebrada Dam is part of the park of the same name, and is an excellent spot for canoeing every year both provincial and inter-provincial competitions are held here. And all other water sports are allowed too -except motorized ones!- Around the dam there is a path accessible only to those on foot and which leads to the Condor Falls, set amongst luxuriant vegetation; upstream is another fine waterfall, Los Hornillos, with a height of over ten metres. Other interesting laces to visit in this area include Los Altos –a group of luxury residences right in the hills-, the Ñu Porá Christ Monument by the sculptor Cortinovis, Santa Teresita and Itatí Caves, and La Candonga Jesuit Chapel.


Warnings

Córdoba is the only city in Argentina where the “colectivos” operate on the token system, and these can be purchased from the bus Station and news kiosks. It is also the only city to have trolleybuses, which help notably to reduce traffic congestion. But in the historic part of the city, it is best to walk.
Córdoba as only one campsite, located after the Fair Complex on the Suquía river. Towns in the surrounding area are notable for their excellent tourist facilities in general, and all have more than one campsite.
The Municipal Tourist Office organizes a number of different town tours. Within the central area, these can be undertaken on foot or in minibuses. Possibilities extend to an ecological circuit, the San Vicente district, various industries, and the Nueva Córdoba and Las Rosas areas. During Holy Week and the winter and summer holiday periods, the Town Authorities issue visitors travelling by car whit special licenses (“obleas”) which allow you to go where you want with access to the centre and free parking in controlled areas. These “obleas” can be obtained from service stations, the Town Hall, the Bus station and hotels.

Tucumán

San Miguel de Tucumán

No description of San Miguel de Tucumán would be complete without mentioning that it is known as the Garden of the Republic, a nickname that will be seen to be fully justified the moment you start to walk a bit through its main square, through 9th July Park, of through any of the suburbs. Flowers are in bloom throughout the year; all the different types you would expect from a place with a subtropical climate. Jacaranda trees –their tops crowned with lilac flowers- and lapachos, with their pink and violet blooms, are typical of the exotic flora of the north. To see these at the end of the winter, or in springtime, when they are in full bloom, and spreading freely along all the paths to make a veritable carpet of flowers, is one of the finest sights that nature can offer tourists who come to Tucumán at this time of years. But there is one other little detail which will not go unnoticed –the delicate aroma of orange blossom that permeates many of its streets and squares, since tows of orange trees have been planted along the paths.
24th September Street is the commercial heart of the city; shops of all kinds, but especially ones selling clothing and fine-quality footwear, make up a whole brash array of commercial establishments that only seem to quieten down when it is time for that holiest of provincial rituals, the siesta. In marked contrast is Muñecas Street, with its elegant boutiques which tempt even the most demanding of customers.
If it is handicrafts that you are after, San Miguel de Tucumán offers these in abundance. In general, these types of shops are concentrated around Independence Square and the Casa Histórica. In the surrounding streets, tourist are seduced by sweets and delicacies that alternate in shop windows with ponchos and beautiful fabrics that have come from different points around the province. The typical Tucumán handicraft is the “randa”, which is not found in any other province. It is a fine linen cloth which originally came from Spain; the secret of how to make this as been handed down from generation to generation since the eighteenth century. The finest randas come from the tiny village of El Cercado in Monteros department, some 60 km from the provincial capital. Another handicraft which is unique to this region is the famous Tucumán poncho; woven from llama, alpaca or vicuña thread, it is and article that is much in demand since it is ideal for even the harshest of climates. However, production has declined noticeably of late, because the animal are in danger of extinction. On top of all this, as in other provinces in Argentina, good-quality leather goods, silverware and products made from straw and palm can be found in Tucumán.


What to visit

The wide, shady streets that are given a touch of colour and a very delicate fragrance by the large numbers of orange trees, plus the fact that is has none of the drawbacks of a large metropolis, combine to make San Miguel de Tucumán an ideal city to walk around.
Your tour could well start in Independence Square, in the middle of which is a fine sculpture to Freedom by Lola Mora. Facing onto the square is the Cathedral, the third oldest in the country, after Buenos Aires and Córdoba. It was moved from the original site of the city, Ibatín, to the spot it occupies today. It has undergone a number of renovations and modifications over the years, its present frontage dating back to 1856. it is neoclassical in style, with two Byzantine domes. Inside there is no clearly-defined style, but it contains the wooden cross that was used when the city was founded, and the remains of General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid. It also houses a small museum where valuable vestments and priestly robes from the colonial era. It has recently been declared a Historic National Monument.
If you cross from the Cathedral to the other side of Independence Square, you come to San Francisco Church, one of the oldest in the city. Intil 1785 it belonged to the order of Dominicans, but in that year it passed to the Franciscans. Inside are to be found pictures dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, some of the chairs used at the historic session of Congress in 1816, robes that belonged to San Francisco Solano, and the tombs of a number of Tucumán’s illustrious citizen. On its main altar can be seen the first flag that was raised by Belgrano in Tucumán. It is surrounded by railings which are a fine example of Spanish colonial work, donated by the congregation in 1694.
The church of La Merced, also known as Victoria Church, and located in 24th September Street which Rivadavia, recalls the passage of Manuel Belgrano through Tucumán. Inside are to be found a number of relics which form part of the country’s historical heritage, including a picture of Our Lady of Mercy, who Belgrano proclaimed General of all the Armies of the Fatherland: the gold-handled stick offer by him, and two flags captured from the Royalists, one at the battle of Salta (1813) and the other at the siege of Humahuaca (1817).
A few short steps away from the Cathedral is the Provincial Historical Museum, in the house which was the birthplace of Nicolás Avellaneda –one of two presidents of the Republic to have been born in Tucumán. Since 1941 this building has been a Historic National Monument. Its rooms contain displays of furniture, clothing, coins and other relics of the last century. The building itself is an architectural gem of the 19th century, a two-storey house with a fine staircase made of carved quebracho; it also has beautiful internal courtyards.
The last stopping-off place on this tour through the central part of San Miguel de Tucumán has to be the Casa Histórica, known to Argentinians simply as La Casa de Tucumán. It is true that virtually nothing remains of the original house belongin to doña Francisca Bazán de Laguna –just the room where the congressmen met- but the rest has been so carefully reconstructed that it is hard to tell the difference. The house led a very chequered existence until 1941 when it was declared a Historical National Monument, and the renowned architect Mario Buschiazzo was given the task of restoring it to its original appearance. To do this, Buschiazzo worked with original documents of the period, including photographs taken in 1869, and also excavated the foundations. Two bas-reliefs depicting the Independence struggle by Lola Mora –yet another of the glories of Tucumán- adorn the rear courtyard.
Since 1968 the house has provided a very original attraction which has appealed to thousands of visitors, both Argentinians and foreigners alike. This is a son et lumiére presentation which by means of a highly-developed audiovisual system recalls the Independence struggle in colours, light and sound. Production of this involved not only a large team of technicians but also a number of leading figures in the world of Argentinian music and theatre.
An absolute must is a visit to 9th July Park, which contains numerous activities ranging from cycle ways to pastry shops. But its main attraction are the gardens which are in flowers all year, with hundreds of examples of typical trees of the region, jacarandas, lapachos, and tipas. With display bearing titles like La Pérgola (The Bower), El Rosedal and El Reloj de Las Flores (The Flower Clock), together with its collection of replicas of famous statues imported from France at the beginning of the century, the park is an absolute delight. It is reached from Independence Square by following 24 September Street in an easterly direction for eight blocks.


Places of interest in the surrounding area

In its tiny area –it covers barely 0.6% of the total land mass- the province of Tucumán offers a wonderfully-varied range of different scenery; from plains covered with thorny scrub to luxuriant jungle on the slopes of the mountains, and from saline depressions to snow capped mountain peaks.
The Calchaquíes peaks and the Quilmes ranges are prominent in the north west, while further south are to be found the Aconquija range, which has majestic snow capped summits reaching up to almost 5,000 m above sea level. Many rivers rise in these mountain systems and drain in an easterly direction to where the land gradually levels off to form a plain.
It is important to remember that distances in Tucumán are always short. Most roads are paved and in excellent condition, an so it is very easy to tour the province by car.
A number of excursions can be made in a day, returning to the provincial capital to spend the night. One of these takes you to Marcos Paz, Yerba Buena, La Rinconada and San Pablo. This is the most attractive residential area, and from the road that leads up San Javier Hill (1270 m) there are wonderful views over the city of San Miguel de Tucumán. At the foot of the hill lies La Rinconada, where the Golf Club is located, with swimming pool and children’s play area. Climbing up the hill, you come to Villa Nogués –here there is an inn and tennis court. And Raco, two village resorts with fine week end houses. These places are no more than 50 km away the city.
Leaving Tucumán along national route nº 9 and branching off onto provincial route 311, you come to San Pedro de Colalao, another pretty summer resort where a large swimming pool –with water from the Tacana River- is the attraction for visitors from near and far. It is also a favourite place four young people as it has a very active night life.
Another extremely attractive tour from San Miguel de Tucumán is along national route 38 to Acheral (46 km), and then branching off onto provincial route 307 which takes you to the valley region. A mountain track (partly unsurfaced) then leads you alongside the Los Sosa river to the Tafí Valley (2,000 m). The entrance to this valley is absolutely breathtaking. Awaiting you ere is a beautiful landscape of dense jungle which rises up the slopes of mountains with summits as high as 5,000 m above sea level. Rivers cut through the wole valley. But there is more than simply the scenery to astound visitors here: there are the remains of its ancient inhabitant, who left behind strange, carved stones known as menhirs, which are scattered over a hill in La Angostura Park.
Las Carreras, El Potrerillo and El Mollar are other valleys in the Tafí system, and these can boast inns, restaurants, hotels and pastry shops. There is a polo club, and also a hunting club. The local sweets and cheeses produced in Las Carreras are famous.
The valley reached its highest point in Infiernillo dale; from ere it drops down to Amaicha del Valle (164 km). From this point on the scenery changes completely, with vegetation typical of a dry, hot climate. Amaicha del Valle is home to the only indigenous community still surviving today in the province, and is also famous for its Pachamama Festival; this revives the ancient rituals of worshiping the land. Anyone interested in the archaeological past will want to visit the ruins of the ancient city that was once inhabited by the Quilmes Indians, and which is only 20 km away.
If you follow provincial route 301 in a southerly direction from San Miguel de Tucumán, you can visit interesting villages like Taco Ralo (119 km) and Simoca (50 km). A local handicrafts market is held every Saturday in the latter, and regional dishes which date back many years can be tried. Taco Ralo has an inn and thermal springs.