Decorated by the landscape of the foothills and at an altitude of 650 metres above sea level, the city of San Juan is a city that emerged from its ruins.

On January 15, 1944, there was an earthquake that caused the destruction of almost the entire city. Today, the beautiful provincial capital city offers tours that allow visitors to admire the fusion between modern architecture and the colonial architecture that remained standing after that earthquake.

Modern layouts and buildings, large avenues and buildings that prioritise seismic safety are mixed, at the same time, with emblematic buildings such as the Birth House of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (President of the Argentine Republic between 1868 and 1874, with a deep commitment to public education), built in 1811 and which was the first building to be declared a National Historic Landmark (in 1910).

The city of San Juan invites you to have an unforgettable experience with activities that stimulate all the senses.

San Juan has a long winemaking tradition that dates back to the arrival of Spanish and Italian immigrants. On the arid San Juan soil and under a burning sun, the work and the stamina of the vine growers produced fertile vineyards organised in the style of the Spanish ones. In the province where the Zonda wind reigns, wine tourism invites visitors to go to traditional vineyards, to stop by old and modern wineries and to taste delicious wines and sparkling wines born in San Juan valleys.

The wineries that make up San Juan’s Wine Route are located on the outskirts of the provincial capital city, where you can find both traditional and avant-garde wineries. There are also wineries -and vineyards- in a natural setting of haunting beauty, where the wineries are of the boutique type. A guided tour allows you to appreciate a production which combines craft processes and advanced technology. Located in the south of the city of San Juan, an exceptionally fertile area is home to organic wine and sparkling wine producers.

Visitors can enjoy a typical beef cut of the province: the “Punta de Espalda” (cap of rump), which can be cooked over an open flame, on a disc, to the live coal, in a clay oven or in a gas oven.

San Juan has exquisite food products such as empanadas criollas, flame-grilled goat, humita (lightly seasoned corn paste in a pot or in its husk), locro (a kind of stew with squash, corn -especially white- pork, chorizos, beef tripe and numerous seasonings), tomaticán (scrambled eggs, tomatoes and onions, with or without meat), bruschetta with dried tomato which is rehydrated with olive oil, fig-leaf gourd jam with nuts, blond quince jam and cheese, melon, among many other flavours.

Ischigualasto Provincial Natural Park is located in the northeast of the province of San Juan, 330 km from the capital city, in the departments of Valle Fértil and Jáchal.

Popularly known as “Valle de la Luna” (Moon Valley), this fascinatingly strange place occupies some 62,000 hectares and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since November 30, 2000.

Its importance lies in the scientific value of the paleontological findings made at the place, where there is an almost complete sequence of the Triassic Period (upper – middle and lower) of the Mesozoic Era. To walk across Ischigualasto means to set your feet on the same paths where the dinosaurs walked 180 million years ago. The lunar-like terrain and the curious geo-forms sculpted by water, sun and wind on the rocks over millions of years, make this look like a place from another planet. Visiting it allows you to spy on the evolution of the Earth.

The small portion of the park accessible for tourists offers visitors several circuits where it is possible to see the most famous geo-forms of this site such as the Mushroom, the Submarine, the Bochas Court and Valle Pintado. It is also possible to observe real fossils. Tours during full moon nights are not to be missed.

For further information go to: www.ischigualasto.gob.ar

The festival pays tribute to the star with which this wonderful land of Cuyo is associated. It is celebrated every year in February, and this is linked to the identity and idiosyncrasy of San Juan.

For 5 nights, the Fiesta Nacional del Sol shows all its attractions in the Thematic Fair. It exhibits the best of the province, with a wide variety of typical food and shows by local, national and international artists; the Carousel of the Sun with its parade of carriages which represent each municipality in San Juan province and the Final Show that consists of an impressive light and sound show.