Travel Reference
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be here, but there are a couple of cheap hotels, one nice accommodations option, and
enough restaurants and cafes to keep you from starving.
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San Juan
0264 / POP 109,100 / ELEV 650M
Living in the shadow of a world-class destination like Mendoza can't be easy and, to its
credit, San Juan doesn't even try to compete. Life in this provincial capital moves at its
own pace, and the locals are both proud of and humble about their little town.
No slouch on the wine production front, San Juan's wineries are refreshingly low-key
after the Mendoza bustle, and the province's other attractions are all within easy reach of
the capital. Most come here en route to Parque Provincial Ischigualasto.
In 1944 a massive earthquake destroyed the city center, and Juan Perón's subsequent
relief efforts are what first made him a national figure. The city goes dead in summer, es-
pecially on Sunday, when all of San Juan heads to the nearby shores of Dique Ullum for
relief from the sun.
