Aconcagua is just a little higher than McKinley in Alaska making it, at 6962m, the highest mountain in the Americas. You can arrange to hike to the summit which takes 12-13 days, mostly to acclimatize to the altitude. Aconcagua sits on the border between Argentina and Chile is about 200 km (120 miles) from Mendoza
We did a day hike up to the base camp where they prepare to climb the mountain. The hike starts at 3000 meters (9,000 ft.) so we were walking pretty slowly all day due to the altitude. The round trip was 10 miles and the base camp is1500 ft higher than where you start.
There were some really cool rock formations along the way. The trail goes just to the left of the rocks in the foreground.
More rocks. The photo doesn't do the colors of the rock layers justice...
This is the base camp at 3500 meters (10,500 ft). We were both pretty dizzy at this point. Miriam in the far right.
The scenery was spectacular in every direction, this is a mountain to the west of Aconcagua which we could see for part of our hike.
The base camp was just behind the green hills that my finger is pointing to.
The day before our hike we went up to the old border crossing into Chile (the new one has a tunnel which eliminates having to go over the top).
The roads through the mountains are pretty dramatic here.
Another view. They call this kind of road a 'caracol' which means snail shell because it curves around a lot.
Also nearby is the 'Puente del Inca' (Inca bridge). It is a natural phenomena, the theory is that an unusual mixture of bacteria and hot thermal water causes mineral deposits of a certain type to form. The bridge started as an ice bridge (so the theory says) and the ice was gradually replaced by a combination of bacteria and mineral deposits. The building was part of a resort, known for its thermal baths some 50 years ago but now the whole structure has become unstable so no one is allowed to get close.
The scenery here is spectacular, reminds us of a mixture of the southwest and the Rockies.
This is an old railroad bridge to give you some scale. The cliff in the background goes on for 20 miles.
On the way back to Mendoza we went a different route through the foothills. From Mendoza the foothills don't look very tall but we were on the Caracoles de Villacencio for 60 km (35 miles).
