San Gregorio de Polanco

San Gregorio de Polanco sits on the shore of the Rincón del Bonete reservoir, the largest artificial lake in the country, and in 1993 a group of artists began painting the town's walls; the project kept going and there are now well over a hundred murals across the houses, shops and public buildings, which the town calls its open-air museum. A long sand beach on the reservoir is the other reason people come.

What you actually see

• The murals - well over a hundred paintings across the town's walls since 1993.
• The reservoir beach - a long sand shore on the Rincon del Bonete.
• The open-air museum - the whole town treated as a gallery.
• The lake - the largest artificial water body in the country.

When to go

December to March for the beach and the warm weather. The murals are visible year round. Winter is quiet with much closed.

Honest expectations

Murals vary in quality and condition; some are faded or damaged. The town is remote and the roads in are long. Outside summer facilities are limited.

Nearby

Tacuarembo is northeast, and Paso de los Toros is south.