CORONEL MOLDES

During the first years of the Spanish conquest, the town of Coronel Moldes was called Puerta de Díaz for it belonged to Pedro Díaz, one of Salta's founders When a military emplacement was created in the area to defended it from the Calchaquí natives' attacks, which was located at the entrance of the town, it was rightly called San Bernardo Fort.

In 1808 it became the capital of the La Viña Department for a short time, and when the Coronel Moldes railway station was inaugurated in 1909, the town adopted his name. The old parish church conserves the image of the local patron San Bernardo. The festivity in his honour is celebrated the 20th of August.

The Cabra Corral Dam can be reached from this place; it is an amazing tourist attraction good for the practice of nautical sports. The water repressed has surface of 12 thousand hectares and it widens a maximum of 15 kms approximately.

It is a farming and cattle raising area. Tobacco, cotton and pepper plantations emerge among the sierras of the Lerma Valley. It produces famed regional cheeses. Freshwater atherines and dorados can be fished along the Pasaje or Juramento's riverbanks. The Fuerte Mountain holds caves that have to be visitded with the guidance of an expert.

HOW TO GET THERE
It is 62 kms away from Salta, at 1104 m.a.s.l..

EXCURSIONS AND RIDES
The Dique Potrero de Díaz Dike (4 Km) A small reservoir in the midst of charming natural sceneries.. There you may find the Club de Pesca y Náutica Coronel Moldes (Fish and Nautical Club) complex, a lodging house, a shelter and motorboats. Atherines can be fished.

The Cabra Corral's Hydroelectric Complex "Presa General Belgrano Dam" (27 Km) Colossal dam built in the middle of a beautiful scenery. It has a storage capacity of 3,800 cubic hectares and a 13,100 hectare surface; The General Belgrano Dam has a length of about 515 ms. It is a transcendent work for the solution of the energy problem in a vast zone of the Argentinean northwest. It also irrigates more than 110,000 hectares of the Salta and Santiago del Estero Provinces. It has lodging and sport fishing facilities.

Chicoana (23 Km)
An old town sitting at the foot of the La Candelaria Mountain. The current chapel (LHN) is only a historical continuation of the temple built in the 17th century, which during that time had an outstanding social and popular projection. Every year in July, the Festival Nacional de la Doma y el Tamal (Rodeo and Tamale National Festival) takes place. 7 kms away is the Pulares Lake, where trout can be captured; the place has camping areas, a dining room, grills, children playgrounds, etc.