The city of San Juan, capital of San Juan province, is just 175 km north of Mendoza. The city, first founded in 1562, was flattened in 1944 by Argentina’s strongest recorded earthquake. It measured 8.5 on the Richter scale and killed over 10,000 people. Needless to say San Juan is a modern city. At its heart is Plaza 25 de Mayo surrounded by shops, cafes and the cathedral. Its bell tower affords great views of the city and beyond. Only a few buildings, however, survived the earthquake, one of which is now the Casa Natal de Domingo F Sarmiento, the birthplace of President Sarmiento. And the former train station is home to the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, which has some unique dinosaur fossils found at the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto to the north.

The San Juan province has also become an important wine producer helped by endless sunshine and an old irrigation system which create the perfect conditions for growing grapes as well as various other fruits. It’s possible to visit many of the wineries including the Bodega Graffigna, also home to the Museo del Vino Santiago Graffigna, a wine museum in a lovely old-style building. A few kilometres south of the centre is the Museo Arqueologico Profesor Mariano Gambier which is part of the Universidad de San Juan. It is home to a collection of mummies uncovered from high up in the Cordillera de los Andes.