NORTHERN CIRCUIT

The northern area of San Luis preserves its historic legacy undamaged. The best way to take this magic circuit that runs at the feet of the nearby highlands is through the Provincial Route No 3. The route starts from the Avenida Centenario Avenue of the Provincial Capital City heading East, and about 5 kms away it takes the mentioned route due North, and some kms ahead it engages with National Route No 146.

Ancient chapels, adobe made ranches, beautiful "big old houses" or "old typical houses" from the late 19th century and early 20th century, wonderful ponds, pre historic rock paintings, waterfalls, all of them framed by a typical landscape of the highlands that develops for the pleasure of every tourist.

The main characteristic shared by the villages that appear along this circuit is the fact that during the Colony some "estancias· ranches were established in the vicinity of the streams that flow from the hillsides of the Sierra. Later on, nearly all of these ranches gave birth to the lovely villages that nowadays are so pleasant to the senses of the traveller that arrives in the area.

SUYUQUE NUEVO
At 23 kms from the City of San Luis, Suyuque is a little village that keeps the Convento de las Hermanas Benedictinas de Nuestra Señora de la Fidelidad Convent, and stands alone in the very heart of the mountain.

The Convent is placed on a splendid natural viewing point, atop the Sierra itself. There, the traveller can make a stop to delight in the view and taste the delicious typical sweets made out of milk, fruits and honey, which are produced by the nuns of the convent.

2 kms ahead there is a public river beach resort, with "churrasquerías" or typical steak vendors and very nice shadowy places.

VILLA DE LA QUEBRADA -VILLAGE
At a distance of 38 kms from the Provincial Capital City and 16 kms to the North of Suyuque Nuevo, placed in the midst of a wild landscape and framed by the high crests that turn into a great gorge, is located the Villa de la Quebrada or Village of the Ravine, a locality that as Suyuque, keeps the custody a place of pilgrimage: the Santuario del Cristo de la Quebrada Sanctuary.

The first thing that the Villa de la Quebrada shows to the visitor is its narrow streets and their large walled houses, in deep contrast with the meagre doors and windows. Don Tomás Alcaráz, who in the year of 1868 donated the terrains to delineate the town's centre, once was the owner. As the legend refers, he was the proprietor of the small crucifix that is worshipped in the present days in the small chapel that he ordered to be built.

From this chapel, facing the central square, starts the way up to the Villa Vía Calvario Village, going up by the slope of the small hill Tinaja, with its height of 320 m that has become a beautiful viewing point.

The ascent is some 1400 m of walking. On the way you will see a Via Crucis that shows groups of sculptures (each almost life size) depicting the 14 Stations, all carved in marble from Carrara by the Italian artist Nicolás Amighini, and were inaugurated on the third of May in 1951.

This path turns the Santuario del Cristo de la Quebrada into an architectural work that is unique in Latin America, and one of the major popular religious pilgrimages of Argentina.

Inside the single nave of the temple rests an image of Jesús Crucificado, known as the Cristo de la Quebrada, a missionary relic whose wooden Cross with polychrome layer gives its name to the Village and is venerated by pilgrims as fromall over the country. The Fiesta del Santo Cristo Festivities take place on the first days of May. Each year some 150 thousand worshipers from all over the Country and even from other Nations come here on those days.

During the acts, an impressive crafts market and a giganatic camping site is organized. There are thousands of tents; wagons and trucks are used as dwellings. Nevertheless, the Village can be visited any time of the year. There will always be some homemade bread and other goods from the region awaitng. It also has a camping site, a small hostelry and a municipal river beach resort surrounded by trees.

In the Villa de la Quebrada the visitor can take a walk towards the Cerro de la Bandera Mountain, in the ravine of Huascara, doing some mountaineering to the top of the Cerro Agua Hedionda Mountain at 2250 m.a.s.l., or take a horse back ride through the surroundings.

To Villa de la Quebrada you can arrive from the North of the Province, by the Ruta Nacional No 79, starting from the Provincia La Rioja Province, or across the Ruta Nacional No 20, if he is coming from the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and Córdoba to the locality of Luján from where the Provincial Route No 146 is to be taken.

NOGOLI (Presently HIPOLITO IRIGOYEN) At 45 kms from the City of San Luis, to the North of the Villa de la Quebrada Village, stands the well known town of Nogolí, which now is called Hipólito Irigoyen.

Nogolí is an oasis situated in the western foothills of the San Luis Sierras. Nogolí means "good waters" in the indigenous language and probably owes the nameto the perfect waters of the river that runs here, waters that are stored by the recently inaugurated Nogalí Dam.

The place was given to Don Andrés Fuenzalida de Guzmán in the 17th century, and has lately been rediscovered by a group of enthusiastic voyagers that encountered in the waters of the river and the shadows of its olive trees, a matchless place for relaxation and fun.

There is an excellent municipal river beach in the middle of the woods and offering all kinds of conforts. There is also a camping site complete with barbecue grills, many clear water streams, and a provincial inn. Nearby, wide fields of olive trees outline the entrance to the beautiful ranch of El Faro.

In this way concludes our tour to the region North of the City of San Luis. However, for the restless traveller that always keeps looking for something new, we recommend to go forward on the road up to Leandro N. Alem, San Francisco del Monte de Oro, Luján and Quines.