San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca

This city, a tourist and commercial center, has an active cultural life that takes place in its university, institutions and museums. The city still preserves some colonial constructions.

Olives, walnuts, liquor, vegetables and dried fruit are some of the main products obtained in this region. However, the mining industry is definitely the main source of wealth: Farallón Negro, Bajo de la Alumbrera and Capillitas are large gold, silver, copper and tin mines.

Catamarca, which means “fortress on the slope” in Quechua language,           makes reference to the topographic characteristics of the city. Its unique contrasting landscapes, in the western and northern area, feature mountains and ravines that widen into valleys; towards the southeast, visitors can enjoy the Sierras Pampeanas hills and its intense green landscape. The most important ravines are those of La Cébila, Los Ángeles and El Tala. Totoral, Portezuelo, Clavillo, Chilca and Capillitas are famous mountain spots.

Catamarca’s landscape is varied and remarkable. Visitors can enjoy different recreational activities and the warm hospitality of its people, with their traditions and devotion to their land.

SIGHTS
Tourists can visit the Archive and History Museum of the Province of Catamarca, located in a 19^th Century house with furniture, iconography and documents related to the political and cultural life of the province.

Nuestra Señora de la Virgen del Valle Cathedral, with a great architectural style, is a pilgrimage center located in front of the Plaza de Mayo square. It is a historical monument and one of the main temples of the country.

The San Francisco Church and Convent, a historical monument with a remarkable facade, dates from the period when the city was founded.It preserves the cell that Fray Mamerto Esquiú once occupied. His heart was kept in a crystal urn.

There is a singular tour to the carpet factory, where thirty women create high-quality pieces.The client indicates what he wants to the draftsman, who suggests colors and sketches new ideas. This helps women with the creation of the well-known carpets of Catamarca.

The cultural options of the city include a variety of museums, such as the Archeological, Sports, Folkloric and Fine Arts museums, among others.

Because of its landscapes and heritage, this province offers a variety of incentive tourism activities: mining, rural, cultural and religious tourism (built around the strong devotion to the Virgen del Valle), adventure tourism (paragliding, hang gliding, four-wheel safaris, motor biking, ATVs, hiking, mountain biking, and sand boarding), ecotourism and visits to hot springs.

Very near the capital city, you can hike around the Jumeal dam, the lost village of La Quebrada (archeological site of the Aguada culture) and the old Chacarita de los Padres site.

A must-see spot is Antofagasta de la Sierra, in the puna of Catamarca, the region with the highest number of volcanoes of the world (a total of 250). The Seismiles en la Alta Montaña and the Ambato Valleys are also worth visiting.

EVENT VENUES
The city of Catamarca features world-class facilities to host a variety of events.

The Catamarca fairgrounds are the most important in the area, with a 6,000 m² (64,583 ft²) area that can accommodate 4,100 people. It also features a convention center with a total of almost 10 hectares (25 acres) with capacity for 1,000 people.

Catamarca also offers meeting rooms in resorts and hotels, suitable for any kind of event. Among them, the Ezequiel Urbano Girardi Resort, which can accommodate 300 delegates, the Amerian Catamarca Hotel, with 60 guestrooms and 2 meeting rooms that can accommodate 320 delegates, the Casino Hotel, with 37 guestrooms, and the Ancasti, with 95 guestrooms and one function room that can accommodate 150 participants in an auditorium.

HOW TO GET THERE
The airport is located in Las Tejas de Valle Viejo, 15 km (9.8 mi) to the south from the city center of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It is served by flights fromBuenos Airesand La Rioja.

The Nation Highway 60 gets till Copiapó (Chile) through Paso de San Francisco, and it allows the access to other Chileans ports. Going south, the same Highway connects Catamarca with Córdoba and the rest of the country.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Secretariat of Tourism of the Province of Catamarca
Phone: +543833 - 437822 / 455308/09
E – mail: infoturismo@catamarca.gov.ar
www.turismocatamarca.gov.ar

CITur (Center for Tourist Information)
Phone: +543833 - 437791 / 437967
E-mail: infoturismo@catamarca.gov.ar
www.turismocatamarca.gov.ar