Puenta del inco - once a place for the happy few...

Just off the RN 7, the highway from Uspallata to the high mountain pass crossing between Argentina and Chile you pass Puenta del Inca, a naturally occurring stone bridge once used by the Huarpes, Inca and other people to cross the Rio de las Cuevas to reach the Pacific Ocean. The place has been known for its hot spring waters, rich in salts, peroxide of iron and algae. These waters are said to have curative properties for stress, nervous disorders and rheumatism. In the 1920’s a luxury spa hotel was built there and the most prominent personalities of that time went because of the healing properties of the water. The building was destroyed by a landslide in 1965, and today the place looks a little bit like a dump - Puente del Inca, Mendoza, Argentina