ARGENTINA REGION BY REGION - Argentina - page 214

8 San José de
Jáchal
Road map B2. 96 miles (155 km)
N of San Juan. * 10,901. @
n San Martín 622, [phone],
ext. 311. _ Fiesta de la Tradición
(Nov).

A gaucho town, Jáchal is
known for hand-woven blankets
and ponchos but it is more
famous as a base for exploring
the surrounding villages, the
high Andes, and white-water
rafting in the town's river.
The major attraction is the
19th-century Iglesia San José ,
a national historical monument
that houses Cristo Negro,
a unique image of the
crucified Christ.

The sunlit patio of Casa Natal de Sarmiento in San Juan

7 San Juan
Road map B2. 102 miles (165 km)
N of Mendoza. * 115,566. ~ @
n Sarmiento 24 Sur, [phone].
∑ sanjuanlaestrelladelosandes.com
The city of San Juan is nestled in
the valley of Río San Juan. The
city has played a key role in
Argentinian history as the
birthplace of the cosmopolitan
author, diplomat, educator, and
former president, Domingo F.
Sarmiento. It is also the place
where populist Juan Domingo
Perón entered the public eye
during the relief efforts of
Argentina's worst ever earth-
quake in 1944. With hardly a
building more than a century
old, San Juan is a young and

modern city. Its wine industry
and the Casa Natal de
Sarmiento are the town's main
tourist attractions. Declared a
national monument in 1911,
Casa Natal de Sarmiento is a
typical colonial house with
spacious sunlit interiors built
around a large patio. Damaged
in the violent earthquake on
January 15, 1944, it has been
restored many times.

Environs
About 14 miles (23 km) east
of Jáchal, Huaco is the site of
the adobe tomb of gauchesco
poet, Buenaventura Luna. To the
west, Ruta Nacional 150 leads
over the Cuesta del Viento to
the hamlet of Rodeo, the
starting point for rafting down
Río Jáchal.

E Casa Natal de Sarmiento
Sarmiento 21 Sur. Te l [phone].
Open spring/summer: 9am-8:30pm
Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat, Sun, & hols;
fall/winter: 9am-7:30pm Mon-Fri,
10am-4pm Sat, 10am-6pm Sun &
hols. & ∑ casanatal sarmiento.
com.ar

R Iglesia San José
San Juan. Open daily.

The Difunta Correa
About 37 miles (60 km) east of San Juan's provincial capital is the
popular Difunta Correa shrine at Vallecito village. According to
one of the legends, Deolinda Correa, a young widow, died of thirst
while following her conscript husband during the 19th-century civil
wars. Her baby, however, survived at her breast. Despite doubts that
she ever existed, this “miracle” made her a popular “saint.” Today, at
Easter and other times, the sprawling shrine attracts thousands of
pilgrims, who leave tokens of gratitude - ranging from models of
modest houses to antique automobiles in mint condition - for
various favors granted.

A thermal bath under an open sky in
Pismanta

9 Pismanta
Road map B2. 116 miles (187 km) NW
of San Juan, Ruta Nacional 150.
@ from San Juan to Jáchal.
∑ hoteltermaspismanta.com.ar

From Jáchal, Ruta Nacional 150
leads southwest to the modest
hot-spring oasis of Pismanta,
where the hotel has a good rest-
aurant and enormous hot baths
that are also open to non-guests.

Miniature roadside shrines to the Difunta Correa

For hotels and restaurants see pp278-83 and pp288-99