La Carolina

La Carolina lies at around 1,600 metres beneath the Tomolasta hill in the sierras of San Luis, a village of some hundreds of people whose houses are built almost entirely of local stone, giving the whole settlement a grey, weathered coherence rare in Argentina. Gold was mined here from the eighteenth century, and the old workings remain: guided tours enter the Mina La Carolina tunnel with helmets and lamps, and visitors can try panning for flakes in the stream, which still yields the occasional glint. The village keeps a museum in the house where the poet Juan Crisóstomo Lafinur was born, a walking trail up Tomolasta with wide views, and a nearby cave with ancient rock art at Inti Huasi.

What you actually see

• The stone village - houses and walls built entirely of local rock.
• Mina La Carolina - the old gold tunnel, entered on guided tours.
• The gold panning - trying the stream for flakes with a pan.
• Tomolasta hill - the walking trail above the village with sierra views.

When to go

Year-round; summer is warm and green with afternoon storms, winter is cold and clear with occasional frost. Weekends bring visitors from San Luis and Córdoba. Mine tours run on a schedule and can fill in holiday periods.

Honest expectations

The mine tour is short and the tunnel cold and low in places, unsuitable for anyone uneasy in confined spaces. Panning is a novelty rather than a serious prospect. The village is tiny, with few places to eat outside weekends.

Nearby

The Inti Huasi cave is minutes away; Merlo and the Comechingones lie east.