Jesús María

Jesús María grew around a Jesuit estancia established in the early seventeenth century, whose church, cloisters, bodega and water systems survive and form part of the UNESCO listing of the Jesuit block and estancias of Córdoba. The estancia produced wine that helped fund the order's university in the city, and the buildings now house a museum of colonial religious art, tools and daily life, with cool stone rooms around a courtyard. The town's other claim is entirely different: each January the Festival Nacional de Doma y Folklore fills an arena with gaucho riding competitions and folk music over eleven nights, drawing large national television audiences and crowds from across the country.

What you actually see

• The Jesuit estancia - church, cloisters and bodega from the seventeenth century.
• The museum - colonial art, tools and the story of the estate's wine.
• The doma festival - January gaucho riding and folk music nights.
• The old water works - the reservoir and channels built to irrigate the estate.

When to go

Year-round for the estancia, which is quiet and cool inside on hot days. January brings the festival and with it crowds, traffic and full hotels across the area. Museum hours are shorter on Mondays and holidays.

Honest expectations

The estancia visit takes about an hour and interpretation is mostly in Spanish. The festival involves rodeo-style riding events that some visitors find uncomfortable to watch. The town itself has little else to detain travellers.

Nearby

Colonia Caroya adjoins to the south; the Camino Real runs north toward Villa Tulumba.