Minas

About

Situated between the Minas and Carapé Minas mountain ranges, the city of Minas, Spanish for “mines”, was founded to serve the many nearby extraction site. As such it is a great location for exploring Cerro Arequita, with it’s cave, forest, and granite rock face. Guides are available and recommended for this area. Closer to home, amongst the pleasant variety of architecture on display in the city, a trip to Cerro Artigas on the east affords great views over Minas, with the bonus of visiting a huge equestrian statue of General José Artigas, so-called father of the Uruguayan nation, which rests atop the hill. Another Uruguayan independence hero, Minas-born Juan Antonio Lavalleja, lends his name to the House of Culture (indeed it was his former house). The exhibits include the musicians Eduardo Fabini and Juan José Morosoli, the gauchos (brave and unruly South American cowboys), and the first inhabitants of the city.