More Mendoza, April 2019
After resting from the previous day’s exploits around Mendoza, we decided to go hike around the next day, and check out Aconcagua National Park. So off we drove towards the Andes mountains and the Chilean border. The drive was very nice and scenic
We arrived at the town of Uspallata; the last major town before the Chilean border and stopped at the Tourist info to pick up maps etc for Aconcagua, and walked over to a local cafe/bakery/pastry shop for a coffee, empanada and pastry snack.
After a nice break here, we drove another 25 miles towards the Chilean border ; it was a nice drive over nice smooth roads
About 3 miles before the Chilean border, we arrived at the Aconcagua National Park just off the main road past the town of Puente del Incas. At the Ranger station, we paid for a day permit into the park for about $5 each, and started hiking into the park starting at 9,000ft above sea level. The park houses the Aconcagua mountain, which is the highest peak outside the Himalaya’s at 22,837ft (compare to Mt Kilimanjaro at 19,341ft) above sea level. The hike trails to Aconcagua are through a glacial U shaped valley with splendid views. Even at this height (about 10,000ft), it was not difficult to breath and the hikes were pleasant. See below
360 degree views
After several hours hiking here, we left to go back to Mendoza. Some views along the way
The evening, dinner was at the very lively street scene on Aristides (Av Aristides Villaneuva); which is the happening place for nightlife. The street sidewalk was packed for 5-6 blocks with outdoor restaurant seating and bars and clubs. It was very lively with lots of people.
The next day, we spent exploring more areas of downtown Mendoza
We then explored part of a huge park; the Parque General San Martín, located west of the city center. Some scenes below form the Parque
After a nice lunch at the Parque on a lakeside, we went back into town, where we had seen a beauty shop run by an older lady and her family; where Dilshad got her manicure, pedicure and I got a haircut; all for about 50% of what we would pay in Dallas. And we had some interesting company; some of who spoke good English.
Mendoza is a great place for great steaks & foods and excellent wines. It is definitely a Foodie place, and coupled with the nice warm people and the downtrodden peso, it is also a great bargain. The nearby Andes mountains are majestic, and offer breathtaking views; Aconcagua being the highest mountain outside the Himalayas was something I never knew about and was very pleasantly surprised. Definitely worth a visit.
Thanks Ali
You are giving travel goals to the people who can’t even go outside Dallas
Thanks for Sharing
All the best
Thanks Tahira. Our goal is to inspire everyone to go experience the beauty of the world, and the warmth of its peoples and cultures.
Thanks for reading my blogs
Beautiful Images….great shots & writeup….Love Argentina…After climbing Kilimanjaro in 2000, I had decided and trained to climb Aconcagua in 2006, but last minute I opted to bike across Africa (from Cairo to Cape Town) with my daughter.
Love to Dilshad.
Love, Light & Cheers
Wow, Bike trip from Cairo to Cape must have been a wonderful set of experiences and exposures to peoples and cultures.
You are definitely much braver than we are
Dear Ali,
A beautiful blog with exceptional photos telling your story. It shows you have a wonderful trip with beautiful sites and hikes. Yes, the food looked really good. Thank you for sharing!
Have an awesome weekend!
Aly
Hi Aly; Thanks so much for the feedback. Glad you are enjoying our ramblings 🙂
Wow, what a beautiful and calm place to visit. I would love to hike at Aconcagua. Did not know it was second highest peak. proud of your guys exploratory skills-i had never heard of mendoza till now.
HI Mahamud, thanks for the feedback; Yes, you would both love this place
Amazing pictures as always Ali!
After visiting so many places around the world… It’s probably changed your perception of people, culture.
Thanks for sharing,
Robert
Hi Rob, thanks for the email.
Yes, traveling like we do is definitely a great education for us; to see people live, think, behave, and attitude to life and family.
Teaches us that there are great values in life to appreciate; not just the values we have living mostly in the US.
Also makes us appreciate more what we have that others all over the world dont; and not to take things for granted like we tend to do.
Ali, I am very happy for you both to travel all these beautiful places around the world and sharing your trip with all the friends, thank you!
Why not? Enjoy if you can, Life is too short, I love your pictures and short info on all these places of your visit, keep it up brother!
Regards
Barkat Basaria
THanks for the nice feedback. Yes, I agree with you; life is too short and see the world while you can 🙂
very beautiful country Always well done
Thanks for the feedback, Mr Nick
As always, I was vacationing with U 🙂
🙂 Thanks Abdul
Another amazing blog. The scenery is spectacular. On our list to visit. Thank you for sharing your travels. Looking forward to seeing your next adventure.
Hi Alnoor, thanks so much for the feedback. So glad you enjoyed it. You will enjoy it even more in person.