Argentina - San Juan, sun land

San Juan is located at the centre-west of Argentina and has a total area of 89.651 sq Km.

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San Juan is located at the centre-west of Argentina and has a total area of 89.651 sq Km. The Andes mountain chain is the natural border with Chile to the west; La Rioja province north and east, and the San Luis province in the southeast. It is divided in 19 departments and has a population of 685.000. San Juan City is its capital.

Prior to the arrival of Spanish conquerors, several native tribes lived in this territory: the Huarpes in the south, the Olongastas in the northwest, and the Capayanes, in the Vinchina, Guandacol and Jachal valleys.

The climate is continental desert. While the temperatures can be very extreme in winter and summer -going as low as -5 C and as high as 40C- the climate is very stable during the rest of the year, especially in the fall and spring. This climate conditions and the characteristics of the soil have given the province an agricultural profile visitors can get familiar with through tourist-gastronomic tours like the Wine and Olive Roads.

Wine cellars and olive oil producers open their doors to those who wish to know the region’s own flavors and scents.

San Juan’s nature also has served to record millions of years of history. The tracks left on this land by prehistoric animals -like dinosaurs- can be found in the Ischigualasto Park.

On the other side, the clear and starry sky of San Juan as seen through the province’s astronomic observatories can be another tourist option in the region, which also offers several sport activities to be practiced on its rivers, valleys and mountains.

Economy and production

Viticulture

Traditionally, the economy is based in agriculture, and particularly in vine growing. San Juan is the second largest producer of Argentine wine, specially the Syrah varietals. The vine arrived in San Juan somewhere between 1569 and 1589, and was brought by Spanish conquerors. Thanks to the very good climate and soil conditions, the wine industry has had a very rapid development, which can be demonstrated by the level of production that the different high tech cellars are showing. Artificial irrigation has become essential for growing crops: canal, dike and ditche construction started years ago. Today, the irrigation system has spread over about 2000 Km, and it is considered one of the best in the world.

Olive Industry

San Juan’s olive industry is sustained by the region’s dry weather and appropriate soil conditions. With some 15.000 hectares dedicated to olive growing, San Juan has a big potential as an olive oil and canned olives producer. Today, it produces some 16000 tons of olive, from which 4500 tons are earmarked to become canned food, while the rest is processed into olive oil. The San Juan oils are typified by their fruit-scented flavors: the ones that stand out are the virgin and organic olive oils. This organic version is mostly sold to the United Status and Japan.

Horticulture

Around 3400 hectares of onions are planted in San Juan. Most of the production is destined to the internal market, but it is also exported to Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. As for the garlic production, it is almost completely exported, especially to Europe and Brazil. It runs second in San Juan’s ranking of fruits and vegetables sales income.

Fruit Industry

Apart from plums, which are sold mainly to Europe, Uruguay, Brazil and Hong Kong, San Juan also successfully produces fresh peaches. As for damask, the main buyers are Canada, Brazil, France and Italy. The quality of the product –its sanitary and organic qualities- makes it attractive in the international markets. Fresh grapes are also suitable for the export market.

San Juan is also Argentina’s main raisins producer, usually exporting almost all of its production.

Mining

The mining sector contributes to San Juan’s social end economic development. This is an objective that intends to be accomplished while also maintaining equilibrium between mining activities and the ecosystem.  The province’s mining activity includes big international corporations dedicated to exploration and future exploitation of metal minerals, as well as mostly national based small and middle-size mining companies, in charge of extraction and processing of industrial minerals.

For more than half a century, San Juan has achieved an important development producing both processed and in-the-rough industrial minerals, such as calcareous, dolomites, bentonites, quartzs, marbles, construction aggregate, calcites and feldspars, generating thus an important industry that produces cement lime, silicon, ferric silicon, calcium carbide, precipitate calcium carbonate and ceramic.

Great investment opportunities can be found in this sector because of the excellent quality of minerals such as limes, bentonites, and different application rocks.

There are several exploration projects different stages of development which have generated a significant amount of investment. Some of them are the Lama, Pachón, Casposo, Gualcamayo, Taguas, Hualilán and Vicuña mines. The Veladero gold mine and the Pascua-Lama project (the development of a gold mine at 4000 m on the Chilean border) will have a major economic impact.

Tourism

Archeological tourism

The Ischigualasto Park

Located in the Valle Fértil department -330 km from San Juan City- this paleontology reserve has an incalculable scientific value as it holds the most complete sequence of the Mesozoic Era’s Triassic Period. It is one of the main tourist attractions in north western Argentina and it was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Also known as the Moon Valley, this park’s great tourist and scientific attraction is based on the existence of fossils from dinosaurs and reptiles extinct for over 70 million years.

Here archeologists have found the fossils of the most ancient dinosaurs known to date, such as  the Herrerasaurus and the Eoraptor Lunensis. But apart from fossils, the landscape is quite appealing because of its complete lack of vegetation and astounding rock formations. The air and the water that used to run through this area in ancient times have eroded the landscape creating strange forms in the terrain. It is the case of The Submarine (one of the more famous sculptures), The Mushroom or The Sphinx. The Cancha de Bochas also stands out, created by the climate’s erosion power which shaped spheres of different sizes over a flat surface.

Scientific Tourism

El Leoncito Astronomy Center

The El Leoncito Astronomic Center (CASLEO) was created in 1983 as a National Services Center for the Astronomy Community and today has become also a tourist attraction that allows the public to get familiar with the cosmos and to enjoy the beauty of the San Juan’s sky.

El Leoncito is located in the Calingasta department, 40 km from Barreal and just in front of a geological structure called Barreal Blanco. This center’s telescope is placed at an altitude of 2.552 mts.

El Leoncito area stands out for the deep darkness of its night sky. Almost every night of the year the sky is unclouded and the wind is very slow or non-existent, and generally the atmosphere is clear and non-polluted.

Night-time or day-time visits are booked in advance. At night, visitors have access to the Meade telescope and information provided by experts in the area.

The CASLEO provides lodging, a snack during observation night, breakfast and lunch the next day.

To sign up for this program, call the Technical Department of El Leoncito Astronomy Center (0264-4213653) or e-mail to nocturna@casleo.gov.ar.

Hugo Mira Visitors Center at Dr. Carlos U. Cesco Astronomy Station

Argentina’s only astronomical observatory dedicated to Spherical Astronomy. It’s located at 2.330 mts. above sea level at the Calingasta department, southwest San Juan. Visitors can see the dome that harbors the Spherical Double telescope, the only one of its kind in the whole southern hemisphere.

Adventure Tourism

Trekking, horse rides, climbing, photo safaris, mountain fishing, rafting and windsurf are some of the activities San Juan has to offer for tourists looking for adventure and sports.

At the mountain departments of Calingasta and Iglesia, tours can be taken on horseback or four wheel drive vehicles, depending on road conditions and the duration of the rides, usually between two and ten days.

Nature’s beauty stands out at The Calingasta Valley, the Ramada Mountain chain, the Mercedario Hill and the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve.

Calingasta’s attraction is its raw and impressive nature scene. Barreal, the district’s most famous town, appears like a dream place out of the base of the Andes Mountains. There are plenty of things to do in this area: mountain river rafting, horse riding, or mountain climbing. Animal watching (suris, condors, vicuñas, guanacos) is practiced all over the mountain area.

Another tour can be following the route taken by the Andes Army commanded by our Liberator General José de San Martín and go through the archeological zones of the high mountain area. At the Valle Fértil department -east of the province- there are 2 or 3 day tours by mule to the Valle Fértil Mountains and La Huerta. This tour’s main attraction is the live in situation with the small communities that live off goat breeding and handicrafts.

On the other hand, the Behind the Mountains Safari attracts lots of visitors in February, during the summer season.

Gastronomy Tourism

The Wine Route

Technological development and its will to improve have transformed this desert province into a fertile and productive region where award winning vine varieties are grown and can be tasted by the tourists in the so called Wine Route or Wine Road.

San Juan winyards have modernized themselves as the interest for Argentine wine has grown in foreign countries.

In the Sarmiento department, which lies at the base of the Andes is the El Pedernal valley, producing wine varieties of high oenological quality.  Located at 1.340 mts., the area’s temperature range (18C to 20C) contributes to the making of well structured wines.

The planted vine varieties are Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Semillón, Pinot noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah.
Graffigna is San Juan’s oldest cellar. Other important ones are Viñas de Segisa, Fabril Alto Verde, Las Marianas, San Juan de Cuyo and La Guarda, all constituting the Wine Road of northwest Argentina.

The households located on this circuit can offer a wide variety of products. From Fabril Alto Verde’s organic wines to the champagne produced by Cavas de Zonda inside the caves where it is based, at the very heart of the mountains (only three of its kind exist in the whole world). Also, the more crafty cellars have begun opening their doors to visitors, constituting another good choice to get acquainted with non-industrial wine making.

The Olive Route

A taste of the oil made out of San Juan’s own olives can be taken at the Olive Route, while also getting familiar with this millenary production. Like the Wine Route, the Olive Route invite to a different kind of gastronomic tourism.

This “tasting road” is formed by 14 households close to San Juan’s capital city: south through National Route 40; west through Province Route 12; and Southeast through Routes 20 and 278.

It runs through 14.600 growing hectares, where tourists can see the plantations, greenhouses and oil and other olive by-products. The vintners are Campo de Olivos, Tupelí, Sol Frut, Mercantil Agropecuaria, San Juan de Ullum, Ciasa, Olimat, Gabriel Mesquida, Baldini, La Constancia, Olivsan, CIF S.A, Olivos San Juan y El Cerrillo.