The tranquil little town of Mercedes, founded in 1832, is situated in the flatlands of Corrientes province. The old part of town is by far the most attractive near the Plaza 25 de Mayo, where the extraordinary pink-stone-coloured domed Iglesia Nuestra Senora de la Merced stands. Mercedes has many elegant 19th-century buildings as well as old-fashioned adobe edifices, one of which houses the Fundacion Manos Correntinas where locally produced crafts are on sale. Along Calle Juan Pujol there are more good craft shops as well as many bars and restaurants. And here you’ll be able to spot the gauchos in their distinctive bombachas (riding trousers) and Corrientes-style outfit, particularly on the weekend. The town is 120 km away from the village of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini from where you can explore the Esteros del Ibera, 13,000 square kilometres of wetlands, which is not only a paradise for ornithologists but for those keen on reptiles and mammals, too.