Cristo Redentor de los Andes

At the end of the nineteenth century Argentina and Chile came close to war over where exactly the border ran through the Andes. Arbitration settled it, and in 1904 a bronze figure of Christ, cast partly from melted-down cannon, was hauled by mule and rail to the Bermejo pass at around 3,800 metres and set on the line itself, with an inscription declaring that the mountains would fall to dust before the two peoples broke the peace sworn at its feet. The statue still stands there in wind-blasted isolation, reached by a steep unsealed road that switchbacks up from the tunnel road below and is open only in the summer months.

What you actually see

• The bronze Christ - the 1904 statue standing on the border line itself.
• The peace inscription - the plaque recording the settlement between the two countries.
• The pass - the old road summit at around 3,800 metres.
• The high Andes - bare peaks and the frontier ridge in both directions.

When to go

January to March, the only period the pass road is reliably open; snow closes it for most of the year and the opening dates shift annually. Weather at the top changes fast, and cloud often hides everything.

Honest expectations

The access road is steep gravel with tight bends and no barriers, unsuitable for low cars and unpleasant for nervous drivers. At 3,800 metres, altitude is felt immediately and the wind is fierce and cold even in January. There are no facilities at the top.

Nearby

Las Cuevas is the last village below; Puente del Inca and Aconcagua lie east on the RN7.