Cariló

Cariló was planted from the 1920s onward on bare dunes, first with pines and later with a wide mixture of conifers and broadleaf species, and the village that grew inside the forest kept unusual rules: streets are unpaved sand, there are no traffic lights or street numbers, houses are set among the trees rather than in rows, and building density is deliberately kept low. Streets running inland are named after native plants and trees, and those parallel to the coast after local birds, each set in alphabetical order. The effect is a quiet, expensive enclave where the beach lies at the end of the forest and the noise of the coast road never reaches. A small commercial centre holds boutiques, cafes and restaurants aimed squarely at the summer crowd from Buenos Aires.

History

The name is Mapuche for green dune, and the land was once bare shifting dunes used for cattle until, in the early 1920s, Héctor Manuel Guerrero began planting his 1,700-hectare estate, Dos Montes, with pines and fruit trees to fix the sand and draw native birds, despite poor access and little local experience of the work. The planted area was named Cariló by 1935, the nurseries moved to Dos Montes in 1938, over 660,000 trees had been prepared by 1947, and the main house, Divisadero, went up on a dune facing the sea in 1948; by the 1970s the family had turned the estate into a mature coastal forest, and its streets were named, in alphabetical order, after native plants for those running inland and local birds for those along the coast (Wikipedia, Cariló).

What you'll find

• The sand streets - unpaved lanes winding through dense planted forest.
• The forest houses - low-density homes hidden among pines and broadleaf trees.
• The beach - Atlantic sand at the forest's edge, quieter than neighbouring towns.
• The village centre - a compact cluster of boutiques and cafes.

When to go

December to March for the season, and January if you want the village at full life, which also means peak prices. March and December are calmer with warm water. Winter is very quiet with limited services.

Before you go

Cariló is expensive by any Argentine measure, in accommodation, food and shops. The sand streets are hard going for ordinary cars after rain. Outside high summer much of the village shuts down.

Nearby

Pinamar adjoins to the north; Villa Gesell lies south along the coast.

Key facts