Desert of Lavalle (139 KM)
In the outskirts of the city of Mendoza, the Altos Limpios emerge as secret, which are the highest dunes of the 20,400 hectares occupied by the Faunística y Florística Telteca reserve.
From Mendoza we head north on the RN40, at Lavalle we continue on the RP34 to Costa de Araujo and then on the R142 to the 79.5 km where the San Juan and Mendoza rivers converge.
First we find to the right the ranger station and interpretation center El Pichón, in this park ranger post there is a barbecue with table, toilets and there is the possibility of camping. This position also offers a room where information about the desert is provided, a thematic path and the representation of a typical place in the Lavallino desert. At 2km along the same route but on the left is the entrance to the Altos Limpios, here the vehicles are left and you enter walking. It is a space that still keeps the remains of what was the lake complex of Guanacache (around 1960, after the wave of immigrants and the systematization of irrigation, the mountain water contained in the levees ended with the disappearance of the lagoons) .
In that place the El Pichón Interpretation Center operates and if you wish you can take a walking tour through the Natural Reserve.
This circuit, totally different from the landscapes that the province is used to showing, is a desert whose irregular and sandy terrains with dunes and constant dunes of up to 35 meters in height, in which birds find refuge, as tastings and parrots; cuise-type rodents, piches, mice; and turtles, among other animals. The passage through the dunes of the high clean is super recommended and surprising for the flora that there is, the sand so pure and clean.
There, they are also intermédanos, like an oasis in the middle of the desert called Telteca Forest. A concentration of centenary carob trees of 15 meters high in the driest area of the province and that survive because their roots reach the underground layers that are about 10 mtrs. of depth. The sweet carob tree is the most abundant species, however, generally the access to the heart of the carob tree forest is forbidden to the public.
Due to extreme temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius in summer and 10 degrees Celsius in winter, it is advisable to visit the site during the intermediate seasons.
It is advisable to take some time to get to know some interesting places in the surroundings. For example, at Km71 of R142, there is a detour to “El Cavadito”, a historic chapel dating from 1892.
The town of Asunción, is another of the local attractions, on the east bank of the Mendoza River. A century of life traps with all the tradition of one of the oldest populations of the desert, an interesting fusion of pagan and catholic rites. It is worth visiting its two old chapels.
The typical cuisine of the desert of Lavalle is enjoyed all year round, thanks to delicacies such as chivitos a las llamas and chanfainas -common food very common among the villagers-, or the grilled quirquincho cooked in the same carapace.
