Ruinas de Quilmes

Ruinas de Quilmes Review

The main attraction is the Ruinas de Quilmes, about 20 km (13 mi) down the road from the Museo Pachamama. Argentina's best-preserved ruins were home to a community of indigenous Quilmes between the 11th and 17th centuries. Some 5,000 people lived within this walled city at its peak (late 1600s). Only one part of the 75 acres of ruins has been partially reconstructed.

The best way to experience the ruins is to contact a guide from Amaicha; tours start at the back of the mountain and involve some climbing to reach the unrestored refuge at the peak. From here, with a view in all directions, it's easy to see how the Quilmes community could hold out against the Spanish for so long. In the end, the Spaniards cut off their water supply to force a surrender, then deported the whole community on foot toward the area in Buenos Aires that now bears their name. According to most reports, not one of them survived the trip.