Andresito: Find hotels for your trip

The destination of Flores offers a wide range of nature and culture themes to help you plan your trip. The perspectives range from geology and rock art to wildlife watching, nautical activities and regional history. The travel ideas below can help you decide what to focus on during your trip.

Landscapes and geology in Flores

The UNESCO Global Geopark Grutas del Palacio is located in the Department of Flores, in southern central Uruguay. Its attractions include natural landscapes as well as geological, paleontological, archaeological, historical and cultural sites. Its themes therefore extend beyond geology, offering different ways to explore the landscape and its history.

The protected area of Localidad Rupestre de Chamangá is a distinctive landscape. It covers more than 12,000 hectares east of Trinidad in the Department of Flores. It lies in the Río Negro basin and the Chamangá stream sub-basin; the stream’s headwaters are in the Cuchilla Grande Inferior. These geographical features place the protected area within both the landscape and the region’s river system.

Nature and activities

The Lagos de Andresito area in the Department of Flores offers nautical activities, sport fishing, geotourism and nature tourism. This combination brings together water-based activities and nature and geotourism. For your trip planning, it offers a different perspective from the focus on landforms and geological history at the geopark.

The Dr. Rodolfo Talice Flora and Fauna Reserve grew out of the Flores por la vida project and was inaugurated on July 30, 1991.

At Ecoparque Tálice, you can go boating on the lake in white swan-shaped pedal boats. Visitors can also explore an area of more than 40 hectares, home to large herds of deer and peccaries. An electric bus provides a way to explore the park and observe animals in their natural habitat. The park lists 1,500 animals from 120 species; these figures may change. The experience offers an educational, informative and entertaining way to enjoy nature for people of all ages.

Museums and archaeological traces

The Museo Histórico Departamental de Flores Dr. Fernando Gutiérrez is housed in a former railway station in Trinidad, built in 1916. The museum displays fossilized dinosaur remains as well as archaeological material related to the rock paintings in the Chamangá protected area. The collection thus brings together paleontological evidence and finds connected to the region’s rock art.

The Arenales de Paso del Palmar also bear archaeological traces. Finds there include projectile points, bolas, cores and numerous flakes. These finds are associated with people who lived there thousands of years ago; habitation may date back more than 10,000 years. This age remains a possibility, not a definitive date.

Choosing a travel focus

For nature and water-based activities, the Lagos de Andresito area offers a distinct focus; at Ecoparque Tálice, the emphasis is on wildlife watching and exploring the park. By contrast, the geopark and Chamangá offer connections to geology and rock art, while the museum and finds from Paso del Palmar provide historical and archaeological perspectives.

Discover more destinations: Ismael Cortinas, Trinidad.

For the main travel overview: Flores.