Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Uruguay
Why Go?
Wedged like a grape between Brazil's gargantuan thumb and Argentina's long forefinger,
Uruguay has always been something of an underdog. Yet after two centuries living in the
shadow of its neighbors, one of South America's smallest countries is finally getting a
little well-deserved recognition. Progressive, stable, safe and culturally sophisticated,
Uruguay offers visitors opportunities to experience everyday 'not-made-for-tourists' mo-
ments, whether caught in a cowand-gaucho traffic jam on a dirt road to nowhere or
strolling with
mate
-toting locals along Montevideo's beachfront.
Short-term visitors will find plenty to keep them busy in cosmopolitan Montevideo, pic-
turesque Colonia and partytill-you-drop Punta del Este. But it pays to dig deeper. Go
wildlife-watching along the Atlantic coast, hot-spring-hopping up the Río Uruguay, or
horseback riding under the big sky of Uruguay's interior, where vast fields spread out like
oceans.
When to Go
Feb
Street theater and drumming consume Montevideo during Carnaval celebrations.
Mar
Tacuarembó's gaucho festival, plus lower prices on the still-sunny Atlantic coast.
