Rio Negro Coastal Vacations

The coastal vacations at the seaside of the province of Rio Negro are an encounter of the traveler with the warm crystaline waters of the Patagonian seaside. Extensive beaches of thin sand protected by high steep and wide dunes, meet high cliffs reaching 70 meters high at the Atlantic coast.

Driving from Buenos Aires to the south on National Route #3, on Km 970 is Carmen de Patagones on one side of the river Rio Negro, and the city of Viedma, Capital of the Province of Rio Negro on the other. Both cities are the beginning of the northern Patagonia coasts.

Punta Bermeja begins the circuit of the Patagonian coast towards the south at 3 Km from Viedma. San Matias is a fauna sanctuary on the Gulf, at 60 kilometers from Viedma.

Footbridges installed on the cliffs allow appreciating the natural ambience of marine lions, elephant seals, Antarctic pigeons, cormorants and seagulls. The Argentine Patagonia is formed by a succession of diverse geographical and hydrographic accidents. One of them is, precisely, the coastal zone, replete with cliffs that are interrupted in the mouths of the rivers.

The coastal stripe presents deep inlets in the form of gulfs and bays, peninsulas and some islands, the perfect landscape for coastal vacations activities available in the region.

The closest coastal vacation resort to Viedma is El Condor beach at 30 Km from the city. It is also called "La Boca" ( “ The Mouth ” ) because it is just in the mouth of the Rio Negro river in the Atlantic Ocean. The name was given after a ship arriving at the shores bearing a condor as a figure head. it is a small village with all the facilities the traveller needs to enjoy a stay.

After driving 20 Km of asphalted road begins the real adventure. A gravel road, the Patagonian desert, the dunes and the incredibly bue sea. A completely unexploited region with hundreds of places to fish.

Bahia Rosas is recommended for shark fishing. A small oasis is found more to the south - Bahia Creek - with few houses and huge beaches. The place is full of stones carved by the ancient indians and huge seashells.

Another surprise is the beach of Bajada Echandi. If what the traveller is looking for is a private beach it is there.

More to the south is Caleta de los Loros (Cove of Parrots). A real pardise with few houses. During the low tide the beach is slightly slopped. Thee is a colony of seals to be observed there.

Thousands of Parrots and One Condor

The beaches are protected by the first cliffs along hundreds of kilometers. The waters are moderated thanks to the current of San Matias coming from the North up to the gulf. The tropical touch is added by the parrots that during the summer nest and take care of their pigeons.

In the cliffs it is also possible to discover sea fossils and see how the Patagonian plateau was formed layer after layer, as in an opencast book of geology.

Pozo Salado is a place where it is believed there is a Nazi submarine buried in the sand. It is assumed that the Nazis desembarked there after the Second World War, but there is no firm proof of that. There is a team of invetigators working in the area to find out more.

continuing to Winter and Saco Viejo there is access to Puerto San Antonio with a wealth of oisters and seashells and hundreds of kilometers of marvelous beaches. From there ther is access back to route #3 to get to Las Grutas. The most important coastal vacation resort in the Patagonian coast is Las Grutas located in San Matias Gulf (1.130 kilometers from the City of Buenos Aires). This town with its Mediterraneas style houses is famous for its beaches and blue waters which temperature ranges between 22C and 25C.

The Route of the Cliffs

The first stop is at El Faro of Rio Negro (the lighthouse). It is the most ancient lighthouse of Patagonia. It was built in 1887, and was constructed to give a point of reference to the ships that were coming closer to the mouth of the river.

The route continues up to “ El Espigon ” - the dynamited zone of the cliff. It is a favorite spot for fishermen. These cliffs are authentic “ museums" exhibiting the geologic history of the Patagonia. The coast is full of fossilized oysters of the quaternary period.

The next possible stop is in “ The Loberia ”. This is a natural reserve with a number of 3.000 of marine lions. In the summer the males establish their reproductive harems.

The port of San Antonio is at 184 kilometers from Viedma. At the beginning of the 20th century, this port was the most important of Rio Negro. Navigators and scientists valued it as the best natural port of the Patagonia. This was the heart of the whole marine commerce of the Argentinian south. Now it stands as a center of regional fishing, sports and coastal vacations resort.

Bahia de San Antonio is a must stop for birdwatchers and nature lovers. See more about Bahia de San Antonio

Sierra Grande - Mecca of the Mining Tourism

In this locality there is the mine of the biggest iron of South America. They are 96 kilometers of galleries, to 500 meters deep. The mine closed its doors in 1991 leaving without work the majority of the area population. Since then this mine works as tourist pole of attraction that attracts the lovers of the mining tourism. The guides are miners of profession who were employed at the mine in his epoch of maximum splendour.

For many of them tourism is their only way to earn a living and thir main stream of income.

Trip to the Center of Earth

Sierra Grande is located to the Southeast of the province of Rio Negro. It has 8.000 inhabitants. It was founded in 1890 as a village attending the stockbreeders and travelers.

In the 40th Manuel Novillo explored these mountains and found lead, mica and manganese. In 1944 iron was discovered and the mine started working newly in 1969.

The whole life of Sierra Grande then concerned the development of the mine. But in 1991, the mine closed. The majority of the people remained without work. Many miners emigrated, but others remained and are now the workers and managers of tourists' facilities and resorts.

The Trip to the Center of Earth is a very special excursion. The visitor is dressed for the occasion with an overall, a mining helmet and boots.

Before entering, it is necessary to take off the helmet in honor of "Pacha Mama" the mother of earth.

The guide tells the history and the local legends until the end of the trip, in the mining museum. There the lanterns are switched off and visitors are asked to remain silent, experiencing a sensation as close to nothing.

Later the visitors are lowered with ropes to places where the iron was extracted. The flooded areas are crossed on a raft. The explosions heard make the entire body shake. Later they paint the faces of the visitors with iron.

The excursion takes about three hours. It is advisable to take some warm clothes since the temperatures in the mine are around five grades C.

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