Parque Luro Reserve

Parque Luro protects one of the best surviving stands of caldén forest, the open woodland of thorny trees that once covered much of central Argentina, along with the estate that Pedro Luro built here at the start of the twentieth century. Luro created a private hunting park, importing red deer and European wild boar from Europe and enclosing thousands of hectares, and built a mansion in French style with imported furnishings, now a museum kept much as it was. The descendants of those deer still live in the reserve, and each autumn the rut fills the woodland with the roaring of stags, which draws visitors specifically. Trails, a bird hide, a carriage museum and a salt flat within the reserve fill out a visit.

What you actually see

• The caldén forest - open thorny woodland typical of old central Argentina.
• The mansion museum - the French-style hunting lodge with original furnishings.
• The red deer rut - autumn roaring of introduced stags in the woodland.
• The salt flat and hide - the reserve's small salina and birdwatching point.

When to go

March to May for the deer rut, which is the reserve's main event and best heard at dawn and dusk. Spring is pleasant for walking, summer very hot, winter cold but clear. The mansion closes on some days for maintenance.

Honest expectations

The deer and boar are introduced species in an enclosed reserve, which sits oddly with modern conservation and disappoints some visitors. The mansion tour is short and in Spanish. Trails are flat and easy rather than scenic.

Nearby

Santa Rosa lies north; Lihué Calel is far south on the RN35.