Mendoza Itinerary 6 Days: Wineries, Uco Valley and Aconcagua

The airport is 20 minutes from the centre. After check-in, start at the prettiest of the four squares around Plaza Independencia: benches, fountains and a reflecting pool covered in tiles shipped from Seville. Half an hour is enough.

Four blocks northwest is the main square, four city blocks in size, rebuilt after the 1861 earthquake that flattened the colonial town. That is why Mendoza has wide streets, escape squares and irrigation channels, the acequias, running beside the pavements.

There is a craft fair at weekends. Walk on along Avenida Emilio Civit, the city's grandest street, towards the park.

It is 2 km on foot along Emilio Civit to the iron gates of the park, laid out by Carlos Thays in 1896 and covering more than 300 hectares. Stroll along the lake, where rowers train, and through the rose garden. One hour.

From the lake to the hilltop is a 2.5 km climb, so take a taxi or a ride hailing car. Up top, the bronze group tells the story of San Martín crossing the Andes in 1817, and the view takes in the city and the foothills. Time it for sunset.

For dinner, head down to Avenida Arístides Villanueva, the bar street, 15 minutes by car.

Maipú is the wine region closest to the centre, 20 minutes by taxi or by the Metrotranvía light rail to Gutiérrez. Along calle Urquiza in Coquimbito several shops rent bikes by the day, with a map of the wineries and olive oil producers. The route is flat and short, but Urquiza has traffic: ride in single file and carry water.

Pick two stops at most in the morning, such as an olive oil tasting and the La Rural wine museum, and book lunch.

Ride about 1.5 km south to Trapiche, one of Argentina's largest wineries, set in a 1912 building that received its grapes by train. The tour shows the original concrete vats and ends with a tasting.

Stay for lunch at Espacio Trapiche, which has its own vegetable garden. Book the tour and lunch on the winery website, and return the bike by 6pm.

Luján de Cuyo is Malbec country, 40 minutes from the centre. Start at the southern end with Catena Zapata in Agrelo, whose winery copies a Mayan pyramid. Visits are by reservation only, in groups of up to 10, and from October to December 2026 cost ARS 112,000 to 212,000 depending on the experience. Two hours.

Do not drive today: hire a driver or join a tour. Argentina has a zero alcohol limit for drivers.

Head 8 km back north to Route 7. Ruca Malen made its name with a lunch of several courses, each built around one of its wines and served facing the vines. It is the long meal of the day, two and a half hours. Book ahead and note that the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

On the way back to town, Norton was founded in 1895 by an English engineer who came to build the railway. Do a short tasting in the visitor room without the full tour. One hour and fifteen minutes.

The Uco Valley is a 1h30 drive south, between 900 and 1,500 metres up, and makes Mendoza's freshest wines. Leave at 8:30am to reach Salentein in Los Árboles by 10am.

The tour visits the cross shaped cellar, with barrels around an amphitheatre, and the Killka art gallery. Have lunch at Killka restaurant, with a 3 or 5 course menu. Book everything together. Three and a half hours.

Thirty minutes southwest, the road climbs to Manzano Histórico in Los Chacayes. The monument marks where San Martín rested under an apple tree in 1823 on his way back from Chile. Short trails run among poplars and along a stream. Forty five minutes.

Drive 20 km down to Vista Flores, where a group of French families, with winemaker Michel Rolland, planted Clos de los Siete. DiamAndes, a modern building, pours high altitude Malbec and Cabernet Franc. One hour and fifteen minutes, then 1h45 back to Mendoza.

To swap one stop, Zuccardi in Paraje Altamira, 30 minutes further south, was voted the world's best vineyard three years running by World's Best Vineyards.

This is the longest day: 185 km on Route 7, the road to Chile, to the entrance of Aconcagua Provincial Park at 2,950 metres. Leave at 7:30am. You pay the park fee at the Horcones gate, and a trail of about one hour leads to the lagoon with the south face of Aconcagua, 6,961 metres, behind it.

Walk slowly and drink water, as the altitude hits. Before leaving, check the status of the Cristo Redentor pass, which closes with snow in winter.

Four kilometres down the road is the rock bridge over the Las Cuevas river, stained yellow and orange by hot spring minerals, with the ruins of a spa hotel that ran until 1965. You cannot cross it, only view it from the lookout. Have lunch at the village stalls.

From December to March, if you have energy left, drive 15 km on to Las Cuevas and up the dirt road to Christ the Redeemer of the Andes, at about 3,800 metres on the border.

On the way back, detour 2 km in Uspallata to the white domes where metal was cast for the Army of the Andes. The Uspallata valley stood in for Tibet in Seven Years in Tibet. Forty minutes.

One hour from Mendoza, the turquoise reservoir is the last stop. Pull into one of the Route 7 lookouts for late afternoon. If you would rather relax, Termas de Cacheuta, 15 minutes further on, has hot pools on the riverbank, open from 10am to 6pm.

Check out and head to the covered market, five blocks from Plaza Independencia. It is the place for baked empanadas, prunes and raisins, and Mendoza olive oil and olives for your suitcase. One hour.

Three kilometres from the centre in Godoy Cruz, Escorihuela is the easiest winery to visit without a car. The tour goes through the cellar with a giant 63,000 litre cask, and lunch is at 1884, Francis Mallmann's restaurant, known for its wood fire cooking. Book both. The airport is 25 minutes from lunch.