Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Av Presidente Perón s/n; donation AR$5; 8am-1pm & 2-6pm)
This old cablecar station docu-
ments the extraordinary engineering and mining project that created modern Chilecito at
the beginning of the 20th century. The simple, picturesque museum preserves photos,
tools and documents, as well as communications equipment, including an early cell-
phone. You'll be shown the museum (in Spanish) then taken to the cablecar terminus it-
self - a rickety spiral staircase climbs to the platform, where ore carts now wait silently
in line. It's best in late afternoon with sun bathing the rusted metal and snowy sierras.
With a car, you can investigate the second and third cablecar stations, too. Guided
tours visit the final stop of La Mejicana, high in the sierra.
The museum is on the main road at the southern entrance to town, a block south of the
bus terminal.
Cristo del Portezuelo
MONUMENT
(Maestro s/n)
Head down Maestro from the plaza to reach this recent addition: a
huge statue of Christ on a platform accessed by a 200-step ascent flanked by terraced
cactus gardens. Views from the top give super perspectives over town, local couples ca-
noodle secure at the feet of the saviour. There's a cafe, and a painfully slow funicular
(AR$10) for weary legs.
Molino de San Francisco
MUSEUM
(Ocampo 63; admission AR$5; 7am-noon & 2-7pm)
Chilecito founder Don Domingo de
Castro y Bazán owned this colonial flour mill, which houses an eclectic assemblage of
archaeological tools, antique arms, early colonial documents, minerals, traditional wood
and leather crafts, banknotes, woodcuts, cellphones and paintings. It's four blocks west
of the plaza.
La Riojana
WINERY
( 423150;
www.lariojana.com.ar
;
La Plata 646; tours on the hour from 10am-3pm Mon-Fri,
10am-noon Sat)
La Riojana cooperative is the area's main wine producer, and a siz-
able concern. A good free tour shows you through the bodega - think large cement fer-
mentation tanks rather than rows of musty barrels - and culminates in a generous tasting.
It's a block north and five west of the plaza.
