The Villavicencio Reserve is a protected park with 67,000 hectares and extends over the Precordillera, through the Sierra de Uspallata, between 900 and 3,200 meters above sea level. In this reserve located 50 kilometers away from the city of Mendoza, in the town of Las Heras, you will be able to be in contact with a large number of animal and plant species typical of the area. You will also visit the imposing Hotel Villavicencio and walk the famous trail of the snails with wonderful landscapes.
One of the objectives of the Villavicencio Natural Reserve, which was officially declared under this name in 2001 by the Directorate of Renewable Natural Resources of Mendoza, is to protect natural ecosystems and native flora and fauna species. Since 2009 it has also joined the Refugios Program of Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA) to strengthen protection.
In the Reserve, visitors they can spot exotic species such as guanacos, pumas, foxes, black eagles, condors, and a great variety of plant species, among which the cacti, San Juan flowers and chañares stand out.
Another of Villavicencio's objectives is related to preserving water resources from contamination, in particular recharge courses and underground aquifers of natural mineral water. The water in this park emerges from the interior of the mountains, creating more than 100 wetlands, which results in very pure water.
Before you start the A tour of this great natural park is recommended to go to the Interpretation Center. It is located at the entrance to the Villavicencio Reserve on the access road on Route 52. Here the park rangers provide information about the characteristics of this protected area, the routes and everything that can be done in the area.
So that you have all the necessary information to circulate through this wonderful natural space , I leave you below everything you can do during the tour:
Know the Hotel Villavicencio
Just 500 meters from entering the reserve you will be able to see the most important tourist attraction within the reserve, the striking Hotel Villavicencio, built in 1940 with a European style and Norman Alpine architecture at 1750 meters above sea level.
The history of the place dates back to the founding of Mendoza. In the year 1500, the Canota ranch was created by means of the property registry N ° 1, in an area which had great potential for the development of mining and livestock.
The first to occupy the place were the Jesuits, who built stoves for smelting gold and silver, which were transported by mules to Chile from the Paramillos Mines.
En 1680, Canarian captain Joseph Villavicencio (he was one of the captains who accompanied Pedro del Castil lo during the founding of Mendoza) settles in the place and discovers gold and silver mines about 12 kilometers from the current location of the hotel.
At that time a precarious house or post existed in the place that towards 1810 offered travelers a refuge despite the few comforts. One of the most renowned guests was the English naturalist Charles Darwin, who in 1835 rested in Villavicencio for two days during one of his trips and discovered the fossil araucaria forest, adding the find to his chronicles that later they are part of "The Origin of Species".
Towards 1923, the rancher and member of the Argentine Rural Society, Ángel Velaz acquires these lands to initiate the development of the Villavicencio Hot Springs. During his management a mineral water fractionation and bottling plant was built and a water pipe that ran from the springs to the city of Mendoza. From this place the water was distributed in glass bottles to different parts of the country.
In 1934 a large flood affected the Cacheuta hotel and disabled the Trasandino Train, which remained closed for 10 years and the route between Mendoza and Uspallata was affected. When transport to the neighboring country was paralyzed, Route 7 was reactivated, which at that time passed through Villavicencio.
To facilitate access to Punta de Vacas, the Caracoles de Villavicencio were built, a road that has 365 curves and belongs to the current Province Route No. 52. Taking advantage of this situation, Velaz decides to promote Villavicencio again and build a new hotel, large and luxurious (30 rooms with baths for thermal treatments, restaurant, confectionery, bar, bakery, hairdresser, games room, a neo-colonial chapel and a spacious living room with fireplaces), intended for the upper social classes .
In 1943, Ángel Velaz died in the hotel and his nephews took over the undertaking. In 1979 the businessman Héctor Greco bought the hotel and the water bottling plant. The idea of Grupo Greco was to make a large investment and expand the hotel to 150 rooms. But the high demand for water and electricity caused these plans to be discarded and the hotel was definitively closed until the year 2000 when the purchase of Termas de Villavicencio was formalized by the French capital group Aguas Danone from Argentina and the Villavicencio Natural Reserve is created.
In 2013 the hotel was declared a National Historic Monument, and is currently out of operation but visitors can walk through the gardens (designed by Carlos Thays Jr., they have a large number of trees, ponds and artificial canals ), have lunch or tea at the country inn located in the hotel. This is open from Wednesday to Sunday and in its short menu you can enjoy the best Mendoza wines and the house specialty: unmissable raw ham sandwiches.
In addition, they have a variety of pastas, meats and salads. For those who want to have tea, they have a menu of cakes and bakeries in which the melted chocolate croissants stand out.
A few meters from the hotel you can see the springs, where in the past the water was bottled and marketed in the region for its purity properties.
Fauna: what specimens can you spot
Some of the animal species that you can see in the area are the red foxes, guanacos, which are usually stalked by the puma, the largest predator in the area. There are also the vizcachas de la sierra, cats of the pajonal, the mountain mice, agachonas, maras ( also called "Patagonian hare"), wild cats, choiques and other sedentary species such as lizards, lizards and Andean toads.
While on the bird side, you can see Andean condors, hawks, matamicos, black eagles and small hummingbirds. Streams and rivers are populated by aquatic birds such as crested duck, torrent duck and vincha plover.
The species most adapted to human presence are the Comeebo, Camineras, Viudita, Gauchito and Chingolos, commonly seen near the hotel.
The flora of Villavicencio
In the Villavicencio Reserve you can identify 3 environments: Monte, Cardonal and Puna, in them 200 species of flora inhabit and grow.
In the mountains (700 to 1200 masl) dominate resinous shrubs , always green. In the Cardonal (1200 to 2700 masl) there are sunny and shady slopes with the presence of cardones. And in the Puna (2700 to 3300 masl), where there is a great thermal amplitude, yellow watercress can be found.
In these areas you can also find species of San Juan flower, Dipyrena glaberrima, marancel, chañar, zampa, jarillas, broom, sweet carob, aguaribay (introduced species).
Among the cacti there are Cereus aethiops, Echinopsis leucantha, Opuntia sulphurea, Lobivia bruchii, Echinopsis formosa, Denmoza rhodacantha, Tunilla corrugata and Maihuenia patagonica (sucks blood).
Other plants present are the chil chil , the fishbone, the European broom and the rosehip, these last two are introduced species.
In the area you will also be able to observe that the open grasslands such as huecú and coirones predominate.
The melt streams that run down the The slopes feed small meadows and green pasture wetlands called “vegas”. Reeds, sedges and other grass species can also be seen.
In the area you can also see ruff or coli-mamil (Adesmia pinifolia). It is a thorny bush, with a thick trunk, in some cases it can reach 3 meters in height. Its branches are yellow bark.
Ride a mountain bike along the roads of Villavicencio
The activity of mountain bike along the roads of Villavicencio is a journey that does not require much effort, since the roads They are made of small gravel and mostly downhill, it is ideal for those looking for a bit of adventure and to get into the nature of this wonderful park.
The circuit starts from the in Greso to the reserve (RP52 50 kilometers from downtown Mendoa), it is a total of 50 kilometers by bicycle. Passengers are transferred from the city center in a 4x4 truck along with the bikes. During the transfer to the reserve, we pass through the Potrerillos area and then through Uspallata, continuing 7 kilometers towards Cerro Tunduqueral until the entrance to the Villavicencio reserve. In this area, passengers get out of the van to get on their bicycles and begin the journey through the internal road of the Caracoles.
During the circuit you will come across guanacos, rheas, maras, pumas, foxes, chinchillones, choiques, black eagles and condors, and a great variety of plant species such as the white carob tree, myrtle tree, and the San Juan flower.
The pedaling is done with a guide who directs and explains the curiosities of this immense park. There are few demanding sections, since all the way is downhill, all you need is to take care of your balance and steer the bike during the fastest sections on the slopes.
At 25 kilometers, the first stop is made to rest and have a picnic under the trees. Cheese and raw ham sandwiches, small plates with olives and peanuts, with chips and other snacks are served on a tablecloth. Water and Coca Cola are offered for those who wish to hydrate and regain energy to get back on their bikes and continue pedaling to the Gran Hotel Villavicencio, where they will give you all the architectural, historical and all the curious facts that this hotel houses. During this journey they will also walk through the gardens and get back on the mountainbikes to do the last kilometers until they intercept another section of trail, this time already paved.
They will reach a part where Route 52 begins and that is in the upward direction, so following the slogan of the crossing without effort, at this point the 4x4 truck awaits where they are placed in the back from the van the bicycles and back to the city, to the starting point.
Learn about the history of the Canota Monument and visit the petroglyphs
In the reserve is the Canota monument built in 1935 by Governor Ricardo Videla, a place that marks the site where a of the groups into which San Martín had divided the Liberation Army for the crossing of the Andes. This monument is located at kilometer 36 of Provincial Route 52 on the way to Villavicencio.
One of the walls represents the columns commanded by the General José de San Martín and General Las Heras, the other wall represents the columns commanded by General O'Higgins. Here the first stage of the Vanguard Division of the Liberation Army was completed, under the command of General Las Heras on his route to Chile, leaving on January 20 for Uspallata shortly before 9 in the morning.
Near the monument are also the petroglyphs of Canota, located a few meters in the El Manzano ravine, in the eastern foothills of the foothills . S on a set of engravings of anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and geometric figures made on three large blocks (stones), which are calculated to be from the early or middle period of the agroalfarera stage of the region, between the 4th and 10th centuries AD The designs show certain particular characteristics and with important differences from the rest of the cave art of Cuyo.
In these petroglyphs you can see what ancient civilization expressed through rock art. The rocks are carved with various anthropomorphic figures. Among them, some with the appearance of ostrich, simple little men, wavy lines, snakes, and a bird of prey with its wings spread.
This place is considers an energetic point, which was taken as a sacred site by aboriginal cultures (Huarpes), so it is common to see people doing meditations or yoga practices.
Tour Villavicencio in 4x4
The best way To appreciate all the beauty of this natural park is by walking the Camino de los Caracoles. This begins at the entrance to the Villavicencio reserve. Its name It is because this section (part of Provincial Route 52 that connects Mendoza with Uspallata) ascends the hills with a line of curves and counter-curves that They go bordering imposing gorges and stone walls.
You can do by renting a auto, but to add more excitement to the trip and to appreciate the richness native to the area, it is best to hire the excursions in 4x4 trucks with balconies.
The ascent through the narrow dirt road and the turning of the curves over the gorges provide a good pinch of adrenaline and excitement. Added to this is the slow progress that allows to appreciate in detail the mountains, the winding route of the route and the Hotel Villavicencio, surrounded by a lush forest.
The fauna is a great protagonist here. 56 kinds of mammals live in the reserve, of which the guanaco is the most seen, although they can also be seen regularly foxes, hares, guinea pigs, armadillos, ferrets, rhea and, if you're very lucky, even some cougars. Birds are also present with a total of 176 species. You can see the flight of condors, eagles, harriers, peregrine falcons and even bandurritas , a small bird whose song is a natural alarm that announces the presence of predators in the area.
It is a route of 23.5 kilometers, after which the truck leaves the RP52 to enter the Paramillos sector. Here the engine stops and everyone gets off to start a short 1.8 km trek to Manto de Cobre, some old mines dating from the late 19th century. On the way you will be able to appreciate more herds of guanacos, while at the mouth of the caves you will find some owls and several chinchillons, a curious hare with a squirrel tail that jumps over the stone walls.
The mine stands out for the height of the rock skirts prior to the entrance and which show the magnitude of the rudimentary excavation, which was carried out from top to bottom. The dark cave is surprising due to the height of the ceiling, while the walls still you can still see remains of copper, volcanic rock and quartz crystals. The route continues towards a second smaller excavation and similar characteristics.
Another mandatory stop to make during the Camino de los Caracoles and which is signposted as the viewpoint "El Balcón", is a natural amphitheater over 100 meters high that is worth visiting, where you will be able to see the highest mountain peaks, including those of Aconcagua.
The walk ends with a short ascent to one of the highest points in the area, La Cruz del Paramillo. It is the southern limit of the Argentine Puna, a natural balcony from which you can see the east face of Aconcagua, the Polacos glacier and the Frontal Cordillera.
How to get to the Villavicencio nature reserve
To get to the Villavicencio Natural Reserve from the city of Mendoza you have to do it on car, taking Route 52 for 50 kilometers until the signs that announce the entrance to the park. The duration of the trip is approximately one hour.
One way to find out about this reservation is through the Villavicencio excursion with which transfers are included and you have the possibility of knowing the hotel complex, the viewpoints and the most important points of the place during 5 hours.
The reserve is open from Wednesday to Friday from 9.30 am to 6 pm. While the Saturdays and Sundays open from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.