Capilla del Monte

Capilla del Monte sits beneath Cerro Uritorco, at 1,979 metres the highest peak of the Sierras Chicas, and the climb to its summit is the town's main outdoor draw: a steep six-hour round trip through scrub and rock, starting early because access closes in the afternoon. The town has a second, stranger reputation. Since a widely reported incident in 1986 in which locals described finding a scorched oval mark on a nearby hillside, Capilla del Monte has become Argentina's centre for UFO folklore, with a small museum, themed shops, an annual gathering and no shortage of guides offering night watches. Around the town are worthwhile natural sites: the eroded red formations of Los Terrones, the Calabalumba river pools, and Ongamira further east.

What you actually see

• Cerro Uritorco - the summit climb with wide views over the sierras.
• Los Terrones - eroded red rock formations in a private reserve nearby.
• The river pools - swimming spots on the Calabalumba in summer.
• The UFO folklore - museum, shops and night-watch tours in town.

When to go

Year-round; spring and autumn are best for the climb, summer is hot and afternoon storms are common, winter mornings are cold but clear. Uritorco access has fixed opening hours and closes when weather is poor.

Honest expectations

The Uritorco climb is genuinely strenuous, exposed and hot, and it is not the gentle walk its popularity suggests. The UFO tourism is commercial and will strike many visitors as silly. The town itself is ordinary, busy in holiday season.

Nearby

Ongamira and its caves lie east; La Falda and the Punilla valley are south.